 "Photo: Vicki Valerio MCT")
Title IX was 35 years ago and thanks to this landmark decision women have made enormous strides in sports. Thanks to advocates of the regulation like tennis player Billie Jean King and Patsy Mink, the congresswoman who penned the bill with the help of Elizabeth Green, men and women are guaranteed equality across the board when it comes to federally funded programs.
But how much equality has Title IX really given college sports programs? The popular men’s sports like baseball and football are still gaining ground while all the women’s sports are struggling to survive due to low enrollment and athletes who just can’t compete at a collegiate level.
On the same hand, the men aren’t allowed to keep their sports that do have high numbers because everyone has to be equal. This year budget cuts and Title IX forced three men’s sports but only one women’s sport to be suspended. Women’s tennis was cut due to low enrollment. Men’s cross-country, swimming and track and field were cut for money and just to be in compliance of this archaic rule.
Sports are about winning and losing. So why not judge their worth by performance? Better teams should be able to flourish and prosper from their success rather than get cut. The men’s track and field team gets suspended even though in 2009, the team sent two athletes to the state championships and had a roster with more than 20 men on it. How equal does that sound?
We know. Women deserve the chance to compete. There are a lot of great female athletes who can compete with and beat men in their fields. But when teams are consistently underperforming, they have no right to just expect to be back next year and receive all the same funding as teams who win.
Title IX was created in the name of equality but adopted in the name of political correctness. Yes, equality is a great thing. But when rules are made that are impossible to uphold, no one wins.
The writing of Title IX was a great thing. Genders deserve to be equal, but there comes a time when old-fashioned rules need to be revised. The standards have become garbled and misinterpreted.
Revise the act. Call for action. Equity is a necessary thing. Maintain the standard of making sure the field is even and everyone receives the same opportunities. But one group should not be sacrificed in the name of another because of an outdated requirement.
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