Tennis - Woman sues to get men to play her

The story is at http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1642288.html

Nancy Griffin prefers to play tennis against men. And she often beats them in a men's league sponsored by the city of Raleigh.

Some men don't like playing Griffin.

Three years ago, league members voted to rescind a rule that penalized them for refusing to compete against her or anyone else. The change has kept her from taking on some of the league's top players. Men have invoked both their wives and God to avoid matches against her.

Nancy Griffin wants Raleigh to restore a rule that penalized men who refused to play someone who challenged them. - STAFF PHOTO BY ROBERT WILLETT

Fed up with Raleigh's tennis department, Nancy Griffin signed up for Cary's men's ladder on April 10. A few days later, she was informed she could not play with the men.

The town agreed, however, to create a co-ed "champions ladder," inviting the highest ranked players to play for the title of best in Cary. There will even be a big prize, tennis officials said.

On Friday, Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, a player rated slightly lower than Griffin, said he wanted to challenge her in an exhibition match for the co-ed ladder, because she inspired its creation.

"Tell her to call the town of Cary," he said. "Tell her the mayor wants to play."

Griffin would not rule out a mayoral match but said she wants to be on the ladder from which she was removed.

Now, Griffin has made her problems on the court a matter for a court. She is suing the city, alleging discrimination. She wants the penalty rule reinstated and the city to pay her $10,000 or more for emotional distress.

Griffin has been playing since she was 10 and was recruited to play at Barton College in Wilson. In 1993 and 1994, the U.S. Tennis Association ranked her among North Carolina's top female singles players.

Today, the 41-year-old substitute teacher says her fitness and unorthodox, self-taught technique make her a formidable opponent. She rates a 5.0 on the National Tennis Rating Program's 7.0 scale. Raleigh's highest level of competition for either sex is a 4.5 challenge ladder, in which participants challenge each other to move up in ranking.