An upstart group of black sailors should have the opportunity to compete against billionaire Larry Ellison’s all-white team for a chance to represent the United States in the America’s Cup race, an appeals court ruled yesterday.
African Diaspora Maritime Corp., a North Carolina-based group founded to diversify the sport, was barred from entering a qualifying competition against Ellison’s Oracle Team USA by Golden Gate Yacht Club, which will host this year’s race.
Four teams will compete in an elimination round on July 4 and the final race is scheduled for September.
The head of the group, C.M. Kithcart, said he was “very pleased.”
Kithcart sued in 2011, claiming the San Francisco club sabotaged his team’s efforts to enter the race, denying its application based on technicalities including failing to sign the paperwork.
The case was tossed by Manhattan Judge Barbara Kapnick in January before she allowed the sides to argue the issues.
The Appellate Division, in a split decision, found yesterday that since the premiere sailing race “is a sporting competition, the winner should be decided in open waters, rather than in a courtroom.”
Still, four of the five judges sent the matter back to the lower court for a final resolution.
The judicial panel also took a jab at Ellison, the world’s fifth richest man, noting, “It is not a competition if the defender wins by default.” The tech titan spent $400 million to win the race in 2010.
The suit is based in Manhattan because the race trophy’s permanent home is the New York Yacht Club.
A spokesman for Golden Gate said it looks forward to proving that the African Diaspora’s claims are “meritless.”