Thread by @DanielLibit

NEWS 🧵: I've filed a federal lawsuit against @WestPoint_USMA over its (and the other service academies') policy of denying FOIA requests related to Army's athletic department.

I explain more in @Sportico today:

sportico.com/law/analysis/2…

#sportslaw #journalism #NCAA #Army

In 2015, Army followed in the footsteps of Air Force and Navy, by petitioning Congress to allow it to spin off its athletic department as a separate nonprofit organization—Army West Point Athletic Association (AWPAA)—which would then manage its NCAA sports programs.

Since then, it has asserted that its entire athletics operation is outside the bounds of the Freedom of Information Act. Though secrecy was perhaps not its main rationale for seeking to privatize athletics, it seems to have been treated as at least an ancillary benefit.

Not only do the service academies habitually deny athletics-related FOIA requests, but their athletic associations each successfully petitioned the IRS to avoid having to file an annual tax return, called a Form 990.

“Federal agencies should not be able to hide aspects of their operations from public scrutiny by moving them into separate entities,” says David Schultz (@MFIADaveDavid), director of Yale Law's @MFIADave, which is representing me in the suit.

I must give a shout-out to @ByBerkowitz and @Schrotenboer, who in 2017 wrote an excellent story for @USAToday, outlining the secrecy of the nation's service academy athletic departments.

usatoday.com/story/sports/2…

Since that article was written, @GoArmyWestPoint successfully petitioned the IRS to exempt Army West Point Athletic Association from filing an annual nonprofit tax return, called a 990. Thus, there's less the public can learn about it then even a private school's athletic dept.

I've previously filed public records lawsuits against two other public universities–@UNM and @CUBoulder–over similar schemes to hide records in direct-support organizations or other closely enmeshed third parties. CU settled and UNM is currently in the NM State Supreme Court.