Kuronya settles suit with USA Boxing

July 19, 2007|Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine -- A female Golden Gloves boxing champion and the Portland Boxing Club have settled a federal civil rights lawsuit with USA Boxing.

Lisa Kuronya, 32, and the local boxing club filed the complaint in US District Court alleging that USA Boxing, the sport's governing body, violated state and federal gender-discrimination laws during the national amateur finals last year in Colorado Springs.

For that event, USA Boxing paid for transportation, housing, and meals at the US Olympic Training Center for male boxers, but female boxers, including Kuronya, had to pay their own expenses, according to the lawsuit. Kuronya won the championship for her weight category.

In the suit, Kuronya and the Portland Boxing Club sought compensation for their expenses and recognition from USA Boxing for the commitment women boxers make to the sport.

USA Boxing announced the settlement Tuesday. Both sides signed confidentiality agreements as part of the settlement.

Jim Millman, chief executive officer of USA Boxing, said lack of funding has prevented his organization from putting women's and men's boxing on equal footing.

"This isn't a matter of discrimination on our part," Millman said. "It's a matter of not having enough resources. People inside the sport and inside the organization know that we have the best of intentions."

The announcement of the settlement came just days after Kuronya won her fourth national women's Golden Gloves title, earning her a berth in the Pan American Games in November in Rio de Janeiro.