5-12-94
Control No. 4040710761






The Honorable Jim Leach
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
102 South Clinton, #505
Iowa City, Iowa 52240-4025

Dear Congressman Leach:

     This is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your
constituents, participants in the Iowa City Kickers Soccer Club
("Kickers"), regarding the application of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) to such a club and the possible
implications of the participation of individuals with
disabilities in the club.

     The Kickers may be covered by title III of the ADA, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by private
entities that own, operate, or lease places of public
accommodation. Places of entertainment, gathering, recreation,
and exercise, such as sports facilities, are places of public
accommodation. When the Kickers are using such facilities, they
may be considered to be the operator of those facilities and,
therefore, may be subject to title III. To the extent the
Kickers are covered by title III of the ADA, they are prohibited
from discriminating against prospective participants on the basis
of disability.

     The second aspect of the issue your letter raises is the
possibility that the Kickers will be denied liability insurance
coverage because they allow individuals with disabilities to
participate in their program. The club's insurance company may
also be considered to be the operator of a place of public
accommodation, i.e., an insurance office. Thus, the insurance
company may be prohibited by title III from discriminating on the
basis of disability in making decisions to grant or deny
coverage. The insurance company will not, however, be prohibited
by the ADA from administering its benefit plan in accordance with
State insurance laws. 28 C.F.R.  36.212. Therefore, State law
may also play a significant role in the determination of the
insurance company's duties regarding individuals with
disabilities, but such State law may not be used as a subterfuge
to evade the purposes of the ADA.

CC: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Hill, McDowney, FOIA, Friedlander
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     Notably, assuming the insurance company were to deny
liability coverage to the Kickers, the Kickers could not, under
the ADA, use that denial as a basis for refusing to allow
individuals with disabilities to participate in the soccer club.
28 C.F.R.  36.212(c).

     The final aspect raised by your letter is the possibility
that the State and national soccer associations of which the
Kickers are members may cancel the Kickers' membership because of
the participation of an individual with a disability. The State
and national associations would only be subject to title III to
the extent they own, operate, lease, or lease to one or more
places of public accommodation, e.g., soccer fields, tournaments,
or meetings. To the extent such an association fell within title
III, it would be prohibited from imposing eligibility criteria
that exclude individuals with disabilities unless such criteria
are necessary to the activity. In addition, the association
would have to make reasonable modifications to its current
policies, practices, and procedures in order to ensure
participation of individuals with disabilities in the covered
activities, unless making the modifications would fundamentally
alter the nature of the activities. Thus, for example, if a
State or national soccer association operated a tournament in a
facility that it owned, operated, or leased, the association may
have to permit the participation of individuals with
disabilities. To the extent membership in the association was a
requirement for participation in the tournament, the association
may need to reasonably modify its membership criteria so that
they do not screen out individuals with disabilities. In the
absence of a place of public accommodation owned, operated, or
leased by the State or national association, however, the
association's membership decisions may not be covered by the ADA.

     If the Kickers wish to have further information about the
requirements of the ADA, they may contact our ADA information
line at 800/514-0301 (voice) or 800/514-0383 (TDD) .

     I hope this information will be useful to you in responding
to your constituents.

                                   Sincerely,


                               Deval L. Patrick
                           Assistant Attorney General
                             Civil Rights Division

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