Melissa Ludtke's Complaint
12/29/1977
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This is the complaint from a court case where Sports Illustrated journalist Melissa Ludtke alleged that Major League Baseball's (MLB) policy of excluding female reporters from locker rooms put her at a professional disadvantage because of her gender.
Ludtke was an avid baseball fan and rising reporter at Sports Illustrated. She was assigned the 1977 baseball playoffs in New York and Philadelphia and the ensuing World Series. During the first two American League playoff games in New York, the Yankees refused to provide her the same access to the locker room as her male colleagues. Before the World Series started, Dodger players voted to let Ludtke into the clubhouse after games in Los Angeles. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn stepped in and reversed this decision. Ludtke missed capturing the ballplayers’ locker-room stories and interviews.
Ludtke was an avid baseball fan and rising reporter at Sports Illustrated. She was assigned the 1977 baseball playoffs in New York and Philadelphia and the ensuing World Series. During the first two American League playoff games in New York, the Yankees refused to provide her the same access to the locker room as her male colleagues. Before the World Series started, Dodger players voted to let Ludtke into the clubhouse after games in Los Angeles. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn stepped in and reversed this decision. Ludtke missed capturing the ballplayers’ locker-room stories and interviews.
The MLB policy was overturned when the court ruled that the policy violated the equal protection or due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This document is featured in the primary source-based student workbook "Putting the Bill of Rights to the Test."
This document is featured in the primary source-based student workbook "Putting the Bill of Rights to the Test."
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 7329663
Full Citation: Complaint; 12/29/1977; 77C6301; Melissa Ludtke and Time, Incorporated v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, et al.; Civil Case Files , 1962 - 1979; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/ludtke-complaint, March 26, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.