By Associated Press
Montgomery,AL – An Alabama high school teacher and basketball coach who was fired as a coach when he complained that boys' and girls' basketball teams weren't treated equally reached a settlement Tuesday with the Birmingham Board of Education. The settlement caps a case that began in 2001 and gained national attention last year when the U-S Supreme Court ruled that Title Nine protections cover people who complain of gender discrimination on behalf of themselves or others. The Board of Education agreed under the settlement to provide relief for Coach Roderick Jackson and to take all necessary steps to ensure equitable conditions for female athletes in all its schools and programs. Jackson and his supporters touted the settlement as a victory for girls' athletics. Kenneth L. Thomas, an attorney for the board of education maintains that there was no wrongdoing on its part and that the decision was economic one.