Angels respond to lawsuit about Mothers' Day

OAKLAND — In a legal filing that cites the Old Testament and Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Angels asked the Orange County Superior Court on Thursday to throw out a lawsuit alleging the team discriminated against men by not including them in a Mother's Day tote bag giveaway. The Angels alleged the complaint is part of a "widely known and ongoing scheme to extort money from California businesses who dare to give a gift to individuals." Alfred Rava, a San Diego lawyer who filed the complaint, has pursued similar litigation against more than 40 bars, cultural organizations and sports teams, including the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. Rava has called gender-based baseball promotions "sex discrimination on steroids" and charged the Angels with violating the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act. In a letter, he asked the Angels to pay $4,000 in damages to all men who attended the game in question, on Mother's Day 2005. In their response, the Angels argued they did not break the law because they did not offer a discount price or special access to women, only a "token promotional gift" in line with "demonstrable social and public policy" that honors mothers. In addition to judicial precedents, the Angels cited the Old Testament — "honor thy mother and father" — and Emerson, who wrote, "Men are what their mothers made them." A court hearing is scheduled Aug. 17. by Bill Shaikin, LA Times staff writer 7/07/06

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