There is much controversy surrounding Title IX’s interpretation in education and sports. Title IX was created to ensure equality between men and women in sport. Although it is obvious that an equalizing mechanism is needed, there has been a lot of debate in education about the interpretation of Title IX. Many examples of Title IX in sports have led to the dissolution of college sports teams. This was in spite of an attempt to equalize sports for both genders.
The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics was established by Rod Paige, Education Secretary. It was established in 2002. The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, or COA, as it is abbreviated, is charged with ensuring fairness to all college athletes by finding better enforcement methods and greater opportunities for beneficiaries. COA was established to collect information, analyze it, and solicit input from the public in order to make the Federal Standards applicable in ensuring that all athletes, boys and girls, are equal in their participation in athletics.
The COA’s management team included Cynthia Cooper and Ted Leland, who were co-chairs with Rod Paige. Cynthia, a former Houston Comets player, coached the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. She was also a member the women’s basketball team at the 1992 and 1988 Olympics. Leland is the Stanford University’s athletics director.
COA held four meetings in town halls in San Diego and Atlanta, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, and Chicago. These meetings were intended to allow the public to voice their opinions on Title IX in the present and future. The final report was presented by the www.sbowin.com commission at the beginning of 2003. The report contained 23 recommendations for the Education Secretary. While many of the recommendations were unanimous, the most controversial ones received an 8-5 vote. Concerning the acceptance of athletes without scholarships to the 1st prong and the allowance of interest surveys to determine compliance with the 3rd prong tests, the controversial votes were: Rod Paige, however, stated that he would only take into account the votes that had been unanimously passed. These were required by the Education Department to:
* Continue to support equal opportunities for boys, girls, and women. * To ensure uniform enforcement of the statute in all 50 states.
* Make sure that all 3 of the tests that govern compliance with the statute have equal weighting.
* Schools should understand that the Education Department is not against the idea of schools cutting teams to comply with the statute (Title IX 2008).
Patsy T. Mink was the principal author of the education act, which guarantees equal access to education for all. The 1972 Act was previously known as Title IX of Education Amendments. It generally stated that no one should be denied the opportunity to participate in a particular education program or an activity that receives financial assistance from Federal government. Title IX has had the greatest impact on athletics, both at high school and college levels. However, the original statute didn’t mention athletics. It covers educational activities, complaints about discrimination in mathematics, science education, and other aspects of academic life, such as the ability to use a dormitory or other health care facilities. Activities such as cheerleaders, school bands and clubs, which are not sports activities, fall under the same state. However, the statute exempts sororities and social fraternities such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys State, Girls State, and Boys State. These are gender-specific (Title IX (2008)).
Jimmy Carter’s administration came up with an interpretation when the Health, Education and Welfare Department created a “3 prong” test of compliance for institutions in late 1970’s. These are the three prongs.
* The first prong-that the amount of students enrolled in athletic opportunities be proportional to their enrollment.
* 2nd Prong- have more athletic opportunities for sex that is not well represented.
* Third prong- The underrepresented sex interests and ability should be addressed wholly, effectively, and in a respectful manner.
Any institution that receives federal funds must demonstrate compliance with Title IX.
New guidelines have been issued by the Federal Government regarding Title IX implementation. Title IX made it possible to increase women’s participation in sports, but the new guidelines allow schools to limit athletic opportunities if they discover from Internet surveys that students are not interested.
Critics have pointed out that the new guidelines have significantly weakened the law that had been in place for 33 years. This law had prohibited discrimination based upon sex in schools receiving federal funds.
The Education Department has given schools permission to ask students to fill out a form online to express their interest in sport. Schools can notify students by e-mail of the results of a survey. If the survey does not receive enough responses, schools have the option to notify students by e-mail. The Department of Education acknowledged that the response rate may not be high but stated that it would be taken as disinterested by the gender.
Chaundry expressed concern that students might not be able to open the e-mails. Eric Pearson, the director of College Sports Council, stated that the new guidelines are a viable alternative to the gender limit. He said that colleges and schools would have an easier time arguing their case in court if there were fewer women involved in an athletic program than the total students at the college or school. There have been controversies, especially at schools that practice less men’s sports like wrestling. The rule was scrapped to make sure the balance between the number of men and women participating in athletics, given the total student body.
Many will argue Title IX is good for women’s sport. While this is generally true, what have been the costs? It was based on the assumption that federally funded universities could not discriminate by using sex. Title IX actually discriminates against men by trying to solve the problem that Title IX does not allow women to participate in sports. This topic has been raised before. The Health, Education and Welfare Department required schools to make sure that both the selection of sports and the level of competition are appropriate for the interests and abilities of both genders.
It is likely that this is not surprising. Men are more interested in sports than women, similar to how boys are less interested in drill teams than girls. Some colleges have struggled to find enough women for sports. A wrestling coach explained this in this way: If 1000 boys are interested in a sport and 100 girls are interested in the same sport you will have 100 boys and 100 girls. This raises many questions. The issue of proportionality is so important that it is virtually impossible to play for a team without a scholarship because the numbers won’t even out.
This strictness in proportionality was established by the Civil Rights Office in 1979. Title IX does not mean one gender should be treated differently if there is an imbalance between the numbers of people participating in a particular sport. Despite the many benefits it brought to the sporting world, the law has also led to discrimination against men in certain (erroneously) minor sports.
Football
In the past few years, there have been significant improvements in gender equality and racial equity. Since many years, the issue of pay disparities between people of different races has been studied. Title IX’s Title IX program has led to a lot of discussion about gender discrimination and the low representation of minorities in head coaching positions. This website will provide summaries, analyses of top media articles, and other information that shows the disintegration between top professional sports league coaches and their players due to racism.
Many are still wondering if the American football is racist. This is because the NFL was racist in the past. Only six black people hold any of the 297,766 positions in coaching or management in professional football. Only two percent of managers and twenty-two percent of the players are African American. However, the good news is that management has realized that there is a problem and is taking steps to fix it. PFA has partnered with the Football League, Football Association, League Manager’s Association, and Premier League. They all agree that it is urgently necessary to identify any aspects of the selection criteria which may discriminate against blacks in order for future positions to be filled only on merit.
Title IX, as it is known, is designed to ensure equality between male and female athletes in all sports. There is much more to it than sports. Drama, extracurricular activities, and band are all included.