When it comes to treating all softball players fairly, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance has struck out, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.  The suit, filed on Tuesday in federal court, claims that three bisexual men were discriminated against and treated unfairly by the organization during the 2008 Gay Softball World Series. The alliance allegedly decided the players were “not gay enough” after receiving complaints from another lower-ranked team, eventually stripping the men and their team of their second-place title. The complaints lead to member outrage and even a series of small-scale protests during the series, which stopped play several times.

Plaintiffs Stephen Apliado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ say they were privately grilled in a conference room during the tournament in suburban Seattle. The men were privately asked about their sex lives, personal attractions and current relationships. This personal line of questioning was only directed at the three men and was highly inappropriate, according to the lawsuit. The alliance was quick to disqualify the team after the men had answered that they were attracted to both men and women. The plaintiffs and their lawyer claim that the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance is a public organization and therefore violated Washington’s anti-discrimination law. Each of the men is seeking $75,000 in damages as well as a second-place trophy and standing reinstatement for their team. A removal of the organization’s limit on straight players also is being requested by the plaintiffs.

But the alliance claims they are a private organization and thus are allowed to enforce their own regulations. North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance rules clearly state that no team will be allowed to have more than two non-gay players. The alliance notes that other private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America also have set guidelines for membership.

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In a lawsuit against the Atlanta Police Department originally filed in federal court in November, six more employees were added last week who say they were victimized in a police raid of Atlanta's Eagle Bar which occurred the previous September. This brings the total claimants, who include bar employees, contractors, and patrons, to 28.

The lawsuit is a reaction to a raid that has the local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community outraged. Amid protests and scathing editorials, the Eagle Bar claims that on the night of the police raid several employees and patrons were forced to lie on the floor of the bar which was littered with spilled alcohol and broken glass while police officers spewed homophobic remarks.  

According to an updated version of the complaint, several officers posed as patrons and allegedly sat at the bar ordering and consuming alcoholic beverages while waiting for the raid to start. Once the rest of the police force arrived, including members of Atlanta's Red Dog drug unit, the undercover officers told all civilians in the establishment to "hit the floor." Employees as well as customers of the bar were frightened and initially believed that the club was being robbed. The suit goes on to say that the police searched cash registers, beer coolers, the manager's office and the adjoining business on the property, Rawhide Leather, without a search warrant. Allegedly the police also broke into a locked storage room without reason or provocation.

The Atlanta police were tipped off by undercover vice officers early in September that the bar had been the site of public sex as well as a place where drugs were easily bought and sold. There were separate allegations that the club illegally employed all-nude dancers. Earlier this month, however, the Eagle Bar was found not guilty of these charges. Currently, 31 Atlanta police officers have been named in the federal discrimination lawsuit against the police.

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