Hot Rava: Attorney Attracts MLB Attention With Gender Suits

Some Teams Dropping Gender-Specific Promotions Following Lawsuits

Attorney Alfred Rava –- the man responsible for lawsuits against the Angels, A’s and Padres challenging the legality of gender-specific promotions — “clearly has [MLB teams’] attention,” according to Johnson & McKibben of the L.A. TIMES. Rava filed lawsuits against the Angels over an ’05 Mother’s Day tote bag giveaway for women over 18 and against the A’s because of an ’04 bucket hat giveaway. Since the suits were filed, the Angels agreed to make the bags available to fans last Sunday regardless of age or gender, while the A’s agreed to let men attend an upcoming “Baseball 101” program that had previously been “marketed exclusively to women.” Padres Exec VP/Business Operations Jeff Overton said that his team also is no longer marketing a “women-only baseball clinic” after settling a suit with Rava last year. Johnson & McKibben noted the Dodgers “continue to offer gender-specific promotions” like a June 18 “Father’s Day Catch” on the field and July 29 Smashbox Cosmetics giveaway. But team officials said that “moms won’t be kept off the field and men can ... try to snare some lipstick.”

UNRUH THE DAY? Rava has brought 40 legal actions against California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. USC law professor David Cruz said that the act “offers consumers protection against arbitrary or intentional discrimination [and] prohibits businesses from linking their pricing to a customer’s race, sex or marital status.” Cruz said that the act “doesn’t specifically address giveaways ... so a court eventually would have to determine whether a gender-specific offer of a tote bag or a hat represents an illegal business practice.” The court would also need to determine if fans who did not receive the hat or tote bag are “qualified for damages” (L.A. TIMES, 5/16).