The Education Amendments of 1972 has a well-known portion of
to it, Title IX. Title IX states that “No person in the United States, shall,
on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving federal financial assistance…” This had a major impact on athletics
of all age levels—from grade school all the way to the intercollegiate level.
Title IX has had a major impact and benefited many women in
athletics. They have received an equal opportunity to compete and succeed in
athletics. The popularity and participation in women’s athletics since 1972 has
increased tremendously and led to the success of many female athletes. Athletes
such as Venus and Serena Williams, Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan, and Billie Jean King
have had the opportunity to succeed and showcase their talents because of this
act.
While there have been many great success and advancements
due to Title IX there have been some segments of the population that have seen
some negative effects from the law. In intercollegiate athletics, male athletes
participating on non-revenue sports have been forced to be cut in order to be
compliant with Title IX. I don’t believe it is fair to cut programs strictly
based on the number of female and male athletes. If there is a desire for the
sport and the funding is available then it should not be cut just because of
Title IX. It’s not fair to the athletes in these sports who work just as hard
as anyone else.
At the end of the day, Title IX has been a big step for
girls and women all across the country, and we wouldn't be where we are today
without it. However, I believe that the law needs to be tinkered with, so that
non-revenue male sports are not cut and left out in the rain.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI think that what you are saying here is correct. I don't think that there needs to be cuts to certain sports regardless of gender if there is proper funding. The idea that a group of people would have to abandon what the enjoy because of this amendment doesn't sit right with me completely either. I do understand that they are trying to represent equality among men and women in education and sports. However, I think that getting rid of certain groups just because it tips the scale one way or another is not really the answer. I would rather see a set amount of funding be placed for both men and women and have any number of groups established as long as it is within that budget. I am not saying that this would work out completely, I just think there are more ways to go about it then what they have. At least this way both sides have an equal opportunity to participate in what they enjoy.
-Chris Lang
I really agree with what Chris said here about possible solutions to the Title IX dilemma. There are hundreds of athletes across the country, both men and women, that have their opportunity to compete at the college level taken away because of inadequate funding. If the amendment was revised to say that athletic departments had to split funding, that would allow AD's to possibly survey the student athletes or consult with the other athletic department employees to come up with the sports that should be offered. It is not a perfect solution but it would allow athletic departments to analyze what sports they want to offer and how best to allocate their funds.
DeleteBen Mathey
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the specifications of Title IX could use some changing. Since they were made in a time where woman sports were few and far between, the regulations had to be drastic to encourage change. Now that most schools are in compliance, a committee could be put into place to make some corrections. I do agree that I do not see the fairness in cutting a men’s program just to keep a level amount of male and female programs. However, I would be afraid to change that regulation because it might cause schools to bring back or keep many male programs and let female programs suffer. Some slack should be offered as long as it still remains relatively fair, but the only problem is how much slack. Unfortunately, there is no right answer because there are too many different opinions that all have valid points. I do agree with you that some finer points could be changed in Title IX though now that women are finally being taken serious in sports.
Nicole Zawislan
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI really like your post because I agree with it completely. I think that title IX was a great piece of legislature that opened up the door for many women to compete in athletics they normally would not have been able to compete in. I like how you tied in the success of many of today's athletes as a direct result of title IX because I think title IX really advanced women in sports and is one of the key reasons that women are able to be so successful in sports today, even though there still is some gains to be made. I also like the point you raised about the negative effects of title IX. I agree with you that it is not fair at all that sports that have high levels of interest have to be cut just because they want it to be “equal”. I think that if their is enough interest in a sport, male or female, that that sport should be available if the funds are available. Cutting a popular sport isnt fair to those who want to work hard and excel but can’t because of title IX.
-Travis Kash
Brian,
ReplyDeleteYou make very interesting points; points that I have never really thought of before regarding Title IX. When discussing Title IX, I know it is all about equality in sports for both males and females. However, I agree with your thought of how it could be tinkered with to allow more athletes who work just as hard as everyone else to be allowed to participate on a varsity intercollegiate program. As a possible solution, schools could state which sports are “priority” team that follow the Title IX guidelines. Then, there would be the teams that would be an “addition” team to allow those teams to be supported by the university. However, the “addition” teams would only be possible if the priority teams were taken care of first and all Title IX guidelines were met. I understand that more discussion would take place on this topic of even the tinkering but overall I agree with you about extra teams sponsored by universities and colleges only if extra funds are available.
Billy Nowak
Brian,
ReplyDeleteEveryone always talks about how amazing Title IX is and while it is very notable, it does have some minor flaws. I am glad that you brought up that sometimes male sports get cut too because of the rules of Title IX. Cutting a sport should be a last resort for an Athletic Director. It is always difficult when dealing with issues about Title IX because no matter what you can't please everyone. Cutting programs leads to many lost opportunities for young students and it is really tragic. I agree with you when you said that if the funding is available then a program should not be cut. However, without Title IX we may have never gotten to see amazing athletes like Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan, and Candace Parker. Women’s sports would be receiving even less coverage today without Title IX. Essentially, the pros outweigh the cons in Title IX. However, it is not perfect and could be tweaked a little bit to make sure that more people get the chance to succeed on and off the field.
-Corey Krupa
I agree that there are some major flaws with Title IX. If football and men's basketball are the only revenue generating sports in college athletics, than why are they subject to the same rules and regulations as all other sports. Because of their unique ability to earn revenue I believe that football and men's basketball shouldn't be considered in Title IX. This would allow the revenue generating sports to continue to help support their athletic departments while ensuring equality across other sports.Title IX is an important landmark and has done tremendous work to help encourage and provide the opportunity for women to play more sports. I believe however that it would work better to help both men and women if the revenue generating sports were no longer considered when applying Title IX regulations.
ReplyDeleteMax Perry