Gay California
ice-skating duo settles suit with rink

Two award-winning amateur gay figure skaters have settled their suit against a Berkeley, Calif., ice rink company that discriminated against them. John Manzon-Santos and Alan Lessik reached an agreement Wednesday with East Bay Iceland, which will publicly apologize for preventing the two men from skating together earlier this year while training for this summer's Gay Games. The agreement also requires East Bay Iceland employees to undergo diversity training and prominently display signs that include the statement "[Iceland] undertakes continual efforts to open the world of skating to individuals in an environment free from intimidation, harassment, or bias." Manzon-Santos and Lessik were stopped from skating at the Berkeley Iceland rink, one of three that East Bay operates. Berkeley Iceland will now offer a monthly Gay/Straight Skate Night and weekly "pairs preferred" skating sessions, which the two men will receive free admission to for a year. "East Bay Iceland is a model partner," said Karen Doering, senior counsel with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represented the pair with counsel from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati. "They seriously listened to our concerns, recognized discrimination is damaging, and are taking every step to ensure discrimination does not happen at their establishments, including educating all of their employees with diversity trainings." Both the Berkeley Municipal Code and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibit discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. Manzon-Santos and Lessik have won medals at previous Gay Games and will be skating in the pairs competition this summer in Chicago. (The Advocate)