## Facts

- New York Yankees, Inc. (the club) operated Yankee Stadium, a place of public accommodation covered by New York’s Human Rights Law (N.Y. Exec. Law § 296).
- On September 4, 1971, the club ran a “Ladies’ Day” at Yankee Stadium that allowed female fans to buy admission tickets at a reduced price.
- “Ladies’ Day” discounts were described as a long-standing baseball tradition, dating back to the 1870s.
- The September 4, 1971 event was one of 11 Ladies’ Day events the club held during 1970 and 1971.
- Those Ladies’ Day events reportedly drew, on average, about 350 female attendees.
- Abosh, a male fan, attempted to buy a ticket at the reduced price available to women and was refused.
- Abosh filed a complaint under New York’s Human Rights Law, alleging the club offered him unequal terms, conditions, or privileges of admission to the stadium because of his sex.
- The club argued that the Human Rights Law (1) did not require equal pricing, (2) was not violated because Abosh could still attend the game by paying the regular price, (3) was intended to protect women rather than men, and (4) reflected a rational business choice aimed at encouraging women to attend baseball games and strengthening family ties around baseball.
- The matter proceeded to the New York State Human Rights Appeal Board (No. CPS-25284; Appeal No. 1194), which issued its decision in 1972.

## Issues

1. Whether a “Ladies’ Day” discounted ticket price for women, with men required to pay a higher regular price, constitutes discrimination “because of sex” in a place of public accommodation under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296.
2. Whether charging the non-discounted sex the regular admission price nonetheless “withholds” an “accommodation, advantage, facility, or privilege” when entry is still available at the higher price.
3. Whether New York’s Human Rights Law’s public-accommodations protections apply to “any person,” including men alleging sex discrimination.

## Decision

- The New York State Human Rights Appeal Board ruled in favor of Abosh and found that the club’s Ladies’ Day reduced-price admission for women constituted unlawful sex discrimination under New York’s Human Rights Law.
- The Board rejected the argument that there was no actionable denial because Abosh could still enter the stadium by paying the regular price; the unequal pricing was itself unequal treatment in the terms or privileges of admission.
- The Board rejected the claim that the Human Rights Law protects only women and applied the statute’s protection against sex discrimination to Abosh as a male complainant.
- In explaining its conclusion, the Board characterized sex-based pricing as inconsistent with public policy requiring women and men to be on equal footing, including in a “modern technological society.”

## Legal Principles

- Under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(2)(a), it is unlawful for a place of public accommodation to discriminate because of sex in the “accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges” it offers.
- Admission price and the conditions of admission are part of the advantages or privileges of a public accommodation; unequal pricing based on sex is unequal treatment under the statute.
- A pricing preference that favors women necessarily imposes a disadvantage on men who seek the same service on the same terms; the law’s protection against sex discrimination applies regardless of which sex receives the preference.
- Statutory protection in the public-accommodations provision extends to “any person,” so a male complainant may challenge sex-based unequal treatment.
- Business reasons or benign intent—such as increasing women’s attendance or maintaining a tradition—do not justify a facially sex-based pricing policy in a covered public accommodation.

## Conclusion

The Human Rights Appeal Board held that the New York Yankees’ Ladies’ Day practice of charging women a reduced admission price at Yankee Stadium while requiring men to pay the regular price violated New York’s Human Rights Law because it imposed unequal terms and privileges of admission based on sex, and the statute protects any person from such discrimination.


Abosh v. New York Yankees, Inc., No. CPS-25284, Appeal No. 1194 (1972)