Metro

Bishop McCort Catholic Academy of Johnstown has filed an amended civil complaint against the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and the school districts that compete in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference as the school pursues the claim of discrimination “due to its religious identity.”

The amended complaint was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown after District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand in a Friday order gave her permission for the filing.

The PIAA and a majority of the public schools in the athletic conference opposed the filing of an amended complaint.

The state athletic association, which provides oversight and regulation of high school and middle school sports, claimed in its opposition that McCort’s charge of disparate treatment cited in its new complaint is beyond the two-year statute of limitations.

The public school districts that are part of the LHAC opposed the filing of a new complaint, noting McCort “does not offer any factual assertions that it was treated differently by the Districts from any LHAC member schools, including the other Catholic Schools (Bishop Guilfoyle Academy of Altoona and Bishop Carroll High School of Ebensburg) in this matter.”

The amended complaint cites a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of Constitution by the public schools in an effort to remove the Catholic schools from the athletic conference.

“As (McCort) has not alleged that it was treated differently from any LHAC member school, the Equal Protection claim would fail to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and is thus futile,” stated attorney Jennifer L. Dambeck of Altoona, representing the public schools.

Wiegand in her order stated that she was granting McCort the right to file a new complaint, explaining that federal rules require that amendments in lawsuits be freely given absent any “undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive” by the plaintiff.

The judge pointed out the lawsuit filed by McCort in January is in its relative early stages.

“Additionally,” she stated, “there is no suggestion that McCort’s motion is motivated by an improper reason.”

“Finally, the defendants have not explained why adding these claims will cause them unfair prejudice. The Court finds that justice requires granting (McCort) leave to amend its complaint,” she expressed in her order.

The amended complaint by McCort has provided an explanation of its concerns — beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit explains that during COVID when many schools were shut down, Tom Smith, the chief administrative officer of McCort, was interviewed and he noted that McCort had devised a plan through which public school students could attend class remotely at the Academy.

The lawsuit stated Smith’s statement had nothing to do with athletics, but several public school athletes transferred to McCort during that time.

According to the lawsuit, Smith’s comments “inflamed LHAC public school members,” and they complained to the PIAA.

The PIAA wasted no time in investigating the complaints and hearings were held.

McCort was ultimately sanctioned for recruiting — in violation of the PIAA’s constitution and bylaws.

The lawsuit charges, “Such is demonstrative of the treatment Bishop McCort has directly received at the hands of the PIAA due to its identity as a private, religious institution.”

It continued, noting that when McCort complained, in turn, of public school violations no action was taken “even though the (PIAA District 6) chairman admitted the intent of the public schools was to target the Catholic schools, which specifically included Bishop McCort.”

The lawsuit concluded, “The only difference was that Bishop McCort is a private, religious school and the PIAA used that as a basis to treat Bishop McCort differently than the public schools.”

The lawsuit cites:

— A First Amendment violation of Religious Expression Discrimination;

— Violation of the Equal Protection Clause and;

— A Civil Conspiracy to Violate Constitutional Rights.

The present lawsuit was spurred by a recent change in the LHAC constitution making it easier to expel conference members, and concerns by McCort that the school was targeted for expulsion.

Yet, as the public schools pointed out, the Catholic schools in the conference were recently approved for continuation as members of the LHAC for another four years (from 2027-31).

The public schools in opposing the alleged amended complaint pointed out, “Futility is apparent here as (McCort) does not allege any injury in fact resulting from the November 9, 2025, and January 27 LHAC votes, and continues to admit that it was not removed as a member of the LHAC.”

While there is concern that a future vote of expulsion could be in the making, the public schools in their petition in opposing the amended complaint stated, “This type of speculative or hypothetical future scenario is insufficient to qualify as an injury.”

The next step as inferred in the judge’s order is a case management conference, as she explained the lawsuit is in its very early stages.