PORTLAND, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - An Oregon 15-year-old girl and her father want to battle the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in federal court over whether she's too young to join the league.
Plaintiff Olivia Moultrie and her father K.C. Moultrie filed the complaint on May 4 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
According to the complaint, the NWSL has an 18-year-old minimum age for athletes. Moultrie, as a 15-year-old prodigy, accuses the league of having no evidence of why the age rule exists or precisely what it says.
Moultrie says the age rule violates the Sherman Act, which overturns age restrictions in sports leagues.
The plaintiff pointed out that she is eligible to play in the U.S. Women's National Soccer team but not for the NWSL.
Moultrie already practices and scrimmages with the NWSL Portland Thorns.
The plaintiff requests the court order the NWSL to allow her to sign on as a player and stop violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Moultrie is represented by Miller Nash Graham and Dunn LLP, the Law Offices of Leonard B. Simon and Gustafson Gluek PLLC.