Title IX Part 2
Since the pandemic began there have been serious repercussions felt throughout our lives. Businesses down sized while others closed. Those businesses that fought bravely to survive, came out to find many people unwilling to join the workforce. College athletics has been another casualty of these unforgiving times.
Since the pandemic began, universities across the country have tried to eliminate more than a hundred Division 1 sports programs. Unfortunately, the majority of these programs have been women's programs. Some have tried to find funding to save their teams while others have chosen to sue their respective schools for Title IX violations. The argument is that since schools are already out of compliance, they should not be able to cut teams to put themselves further out from equal treatment of women. And this has awakened us to a sad reality in Division 1 college athletics. We are still far from equality. Conservative estimates feel that over half of the universities in the country are failing to follow the law.
When Title IX was passed, college athletics represented just a small percentage of the women that it would eventually help. But it has really enhanced the number of women participating in sports across the country at all ages. According to the Women's Sports Foundation, prior to title IX, 1 in 27 girls played sports. After its inception, 2 in every 5 were active participants. That is where the fairness ends. The law calls for equal spending by athletic departments for both men and women.
"If 60% of your athletes are women, then 60% of your athletic scholarship dollars need to go to women. According to the data gathered by the Department of Education, last year 109 of the 348 athletic departments in the NCAA's Division 1 failed to meet that standard."
Arthur Bryant, an attorney from Oakland who handles many of these Title IX cases, "What's really the disturbing truth of this is that this law has been in place for 50 years and almost every college and university is still discriminating against its women athletes."
He adds;
"It's shocking, I mean the number is shocking, but the information definitely isn't. I think it's kind of embarrassing, honestly. Some of the other things we find female athletes being discriminated against. They are fewer athletic trainers, differences in locker room quality and meals that they receive."
Public outcry at the NCAA women's basketball tournament is another example of this. At the peak of the Covid pandemic, both the men and women were in a "bubble" to compete safely. The men had full gyms set up for them to work out. The women, actually, only had 5 pairs of dumbbells. The NCAA quickly remedied the problem but the damage was done. I guess they felt that the women just did not rate. What official can look at that and believe it is sufficient or the least bit equal?
There is very little need for compliance because no one is around the hold the schools accountable. The only thing doing that are the few lawsuits filed by athletes against their schools for Title IX violations. And the athletes win most if not all of these cases. Colleges settle because they know that they are not following the law. There will not be much help coming from the government either.
I am sure you have seen the commercials that showcase numerous college athletes and they all mention that they will all be "going pro" in something other than their collegiate sport. As their respective sports are cut due to funding issues they must find ways to fund them or watch as their seasons go away. It sounds like suing and grass roots fundraising are the only answers. Suing works but at the cost of time lost. One season can represent 20-25% of an athletes' time in college. It does not seem like a lot but if they are the last years of competitive athletics in your life, then they are a big deal.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged "there is still a great deal of work to be done, but said everyone including students, families, educators and administrators have to be responsible for pushing for more change." This is government speak stating that for "it's been 50 years now and we still cannot get it right."
It seems to me that the only way to have any chance at winning these battles is to hit them in the pocketbook. Universities claim to desire to offer a well rounded education for all of their students. If this is true why are they cutting programs that will help nurture this philosophy? "Greed begets greed" and if they are going to wake up and take women seriously then something has to be done that will cause them to stand up and take notice.
