College Sport for Women Are Men Losing Out?
Title IX and Reverse Discrimination
It is true that women’s sports are growing. From the span of 1992 to 1997, approximately 5,800 female athletes had been added to sports. However, in that same span of time 20,000 male athletes were cut (Sacks, Men’s Athletics Suffer due to Growth of Women’s Programs).
So while women have gained a little, men have lost a lot. It is agreed that Title IX’s intent was not to do this, however, it has become inevitable to avoid.
When Title IX was created it was crafted with intent to make it easy for schools to comply with its guidelines. There are three different ways that a school can meet the equal mark between women and men. All a school must do is demonstrate one of the following requirements to qualify for Title IX.
The percentages of male and female athletes are substantially proportionate to the percentage of male and female students enrolled, or;
That the school has a history and continuing practice of expanding athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex, or; that the school’s athletics program fully and effectively accommodates the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex (Title IX: Facts and Myths).
It is up to the school to decide which one of these three points they wish to follow. However, it has become apparent that many of the schools follow all three of these points.
In point number one schools use to be filled with more men then women. The percentages used to favor men about 70/30. However, that has slowly started to change. It went from 70/30 to 50/50 and now today it is approximately 40/60 in women’s favor. Due to this increase of women in college, colleges must cut men’s teams and create women’s teams to make the percentages proportionate to the enrollment.
That the school’s athletics program fully and effectively accommodates the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex (Title IX: Facts and Myths).
It is up to the school to decide which one of these three points they wish to follow. However, it has become apparent that many of the schools follow all three of these points.
In point number one schools use to be filled with more men then women. The percentages used to favor men about 70/30. However, that has slowly started to change. It went from 70/30 to 50/50 and now today it is approximately 40/60 in women’s favor. Due to this increase of women in college, colleges must cut men’s teams and create women’s teams to make the percentages proportionate to the enrollment.
In point number two, the underrepresented sex is easy to determine. Title IX came into effect because women’s rights were being violated, therefore, women must be the underrepresented sex.
Option number two becomes invalid for some schools due to the fact that the school might not have a history of expanding athletic opportunities, or they might have a history, however the school has done everything they can to create equality amongst men and women and now they can no further expand the opportunities for women. So in essence, a school has fulfilled this requirement. The phrase continuing practice of expanding athletic opportunities, in point number two, refers to schools having to continue to uphold equal rights among men and women. If a school simply continues to give women equal opportunities, then they have completed this requirement.
n point number three schools are becoming forced to offer sports that might not be as big for women, as they are for men. There is a small minority of women that are interested in participating in such sports like ice hockey and lacrosse, but a larger majority of men that play them. Many schools still offer these sports for women, but they don’t offer them for men. It has been determined that women are the underrepresented sex, and yet now they have received every sport, and in some cases more sports, then male athletes. More men might be interested in a certain sport, like ice hockey, then women, however, it is very easy for the men’s team to get cancelled instead of the women’s team, due, of course, to point number three.
In June of 2002, the National Wrestling Coaches Association filed a lawsuit against Title IX. Later members of the College Gymnastics Coaches Association, the U.S. Track Coaches Association, and United States Diving Association joined in the fight against Title IX. The groups sued in federal court by charging the Board of Education with reverse discrimination. Many feminist groups, such as the National Women’s Law Center, are outraged at the NWCA for making this accusation, and were also upset with the Bush Administration for allowing the lawsuit to go forward. The NWLC, who filed a legal brief in the case, and was upset that the Bush Administration didn’t do more to fight the law suit. The NWCA made claims that college sports such as track and field, wrestling, and swimming programs for men were being jeopardized due to false interpretations of Title IX. Mike Moyer, who is the executive director of the NWCA, claimed that men’s sports were the one’s being victimized by Title IX. He says.
This article is in seven parts. This is part four.
Part 1 Women enjoy a distinct advantage over men in college athletics.
Part 2 Bakke believed that his rejections were in direct violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment.
Part 3 Football seems to be the issue when dealing with scholarships. A school is permitted 85 scholarships for football.
Part 5 For the first time since 1968, the USA freestyle wrestlers failed to win a single gold medal.
Part 6 Every college is required to have a designated Title IX coordinator.
Part 7 Over 110,000 women participated in intercollegiate sports. Where as in 1971 just about 25,000 participated.
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