Autistic High School Football Player in New Jersey Files Suit

The parents of a Brick Township High School placekicker with multi-symptom autism and other developmental disabilities filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic s Association violated their son’s civil rights by denying him a fifth year of eligibility.

Anthony Starego with his parents
Reylene and Ray Starego.

The complaint against the NJSIAA, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Trenton, claims Anthony Starego is entitled to play football this fall under the federal Americans with Disability Act (ADA), which states in part that reasonable accommodations must be made to include those with disabilities in interscholastic competition.