Department of Justice Joins State Lawsuit Against MSHSAA

The Missouri Independent reported Friday that the US Department of Justice is getting involved in a lawsuit between the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) over allegations that organization denied a board position to a white man.

In 2004, the MSHSAA created a policy reserving two at-large positions on its 10-member board for “candidates representing the under-represented gender of the current board or an under-represented ethnicity.” They created this policy after they had never , with one exception, had a minority or female board member, the organization’s attorney, Natalie Hoernschemeyer, wrote in a series of exchanges between her and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. Following those exchanges, Mr. Fitzpatrick referred the matter to the Missouri Attorney General.

In March 2025, the Independent reported that Cassville Superintendent Merlyn Johnson was advised by an employee of MSHSAA that due to that policy, he could not run for an at-large spot. Mr. Johnson reported the alleged discrimination to Mr. Fitzpatrick, which prompted the exchange of letters.

The US Department of Justice argued in a Thursday motion to intervene that Loving vs. Virginia, a 1967 case which struck down laws banning interracial marriage, means that MSHSAA’s policy constitutes “systemic unconstitutional race and sex discrimination.”

The US Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023. The difficulty is that MSHSAA is a private non-profit that is not normally subject to such claims under the 14th Amendment. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the DOJ argue that MSHSAA is public, given that its members are predominantly public schools and that its employees are eligible for the state retirement system.