Task Force Media Notes, July 11

TASK FORCE MEDIA NOTES
VOL. 3, NO. 9 (July 11, 1999)
This is part of a series of regular reports
to update, inform, educate and stimulate public discussion

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDES GENDER QUOTA STATISTICS

An exhaustive study was published in the May 21 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading publication in the college community. The article, written by Welch Suggs, was entitled "More Women Participate in Intercollegiate Athletics" and provides information on the athletic departments at 306 NCAA Div. I institutions.

If you go to the web page for the Chronicle of Higher Education, you can go to a database and get the raw statistics on how each institution has achieved what the report calls "gender equity." In simple terms, the publication has researched each institution*s statistics on proportionality. In even simpler terms, it has provided extensive gender quota information.

In his article, Suggs cites all kinds of statistics and trends on campus, using the research from the study. However, it is very disturbing to discover that it is not until the 19th paragraph that Suggs provides this very important information:

* "An athletics department isn*t required to have its number of female athletes in direct proportion to the number of female undergraduates to be in compliance with Title IX, however. The Office of Civil Rights used a three-part test to determine whether an institution has enough women participating in college sports. If the college meets any of the three standards, it is considered to be in compliance with Title IX. Institutions also may satisfy the participation requirements for Title IX if they have a history of expanding their athletics programs for women, or if they can demonstrate that they are fully accommodating the athletic interests and abilities of their female students."

Why is this fact buried in the 19th paragraph? There are many reasons why proportionality receives much more attention in the media and in the college community than "expansion of women*s programs" or "interest and abilities," the other prongs of the compliance equation.

Proportionality quotas are simple and direct. They are easy to compile and understand, and require no interpretation. In addition, proportionality has been the preferred method of Title IX compliance by the leadership of the women*s sports community, as well as the bureaucrats at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

Even though the statistics show that women have made substantial gains in college athletics, they also show that few colleges have achieved "proportionality." Therefore, these statistics will be used as a weapon by special interest groups to force colleges to increase opportunities for women and reduce opportunities for men.

According to interpretations by federal courts, colleges are allowed to drop opportunities for men in order to better achieve gender quotas. In many cases, a college will ax men*s teams without adding women's teams. Once called the "safe harbor" for Title IX compliance, proportionality has proven to be the most "unsafe" harbor for men athletes.

Consider this quote from Mary Frances O'Shea from the Office of Civil Rights:

* "If a school is taking action to enhance its women's program, then certainly, that would be a consideration in allowing a school some time to bring its participation rate into compliance. But that can*t go on forever.*

As O*Shea explains, the clock continues to tick down for men*s sports programs.

TITLE IX CAUSES COLLEGES TO INVENT SPORTS PROGRAMS TO ACHIEVE GENDER QUOTAS

You might ask what colleges are doing to prove that they are achieving "gender equity" in their athletic programs. A favorite method that many colleges have used to work towards the gender quota is the development of women's crew. Although the sport has very few high school participants, it offers one big advantage to college head-counters - the squad size is very large, helping increase the number of female athletes on campus.

A compelling and distressing story recently appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, written by Barbara Carton, entitled "You Don*t Need Oars in the Water To Go Out For Crew." Carton, citing many specific examples from campuses across the nation, explains how colleges have invented a sport in order to improve quota numbers, often in communities without any high school interest in crew or, in some cases, very little water. Consider these examples from the story:

* "Michigan State University wrote to high school coaches looking for females 5-foot-10 and taller who were 'born to row but don*t know it yet.'"

* "San Diego State gave three full scholarships in rowing this year to women who have never touched an oar."

* "'No Experience Necessary!' beckons a crew invitation to freshman women at the University of Virginia. It promises a winter training trip to Florida and access to sports psychologists."

* "The University of Louisville in Kentucky, a state with little rowing tradition, is drumming up a team. So is Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Arid climate? No problem. Last week, Arizona State University, in the desert city of Tempe, announced it would introduce rowing in 2002. The team aims to row on a two-mile stretch of water that the city plans to create by flooding a dry gulch."

The article explains how crew has grown from 74 programs in 1994-95 to over 122 today. In addition, the story explains some of the unorthodox and desperate methods that coaches must use in order to find athletes to fill the women*s crew rosters. One thing is for sure, according to the Carton article. The growth in women's crew has nothing to do with interest. Consider this:

* "The upswing in women's crew programs doesn*t come from a sudden thrall in the general population. The sport is notoriously grueling and relatively few high schools have teams. Rather, female boats are coming on fast because of gender-equity rules.*

Even those who have benefitted from the invention of women's crew to help achieve gender quotas understand why it is happening.

* "The reason we are here - everybody knows it - is for gender equity," says Jim Dietz, the University of Massachusetts rowing coach."

This stands in stark contrast to male sports, such as wrestling, which continues to grow among young athletes, but is being eliminated by colleges all across the nation. This is a perfect example of the insanity of proportionality, which completely ignores "interests and abilities" of students.

WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR PROPORTIONALITY QUOTAS

The public is becoming more and more aware of the unintended consequences of Title IX, the widespread elimination of male sports opportunities in order to achieve an artificial gender quota. Those that have gained the most from the use of proportionality quotas are beginning to feel the heat, and have become defensive when they are accused of assisting in the elimination of men*s sports programs.

Special interest groups have devised slick public relations "spins" to address the outcry from the general public. In politics, it is important for people to pay close attention to what is actually happening. Remember, when dealing with politicians, it is important to *watch what they do, not listen to what they say.*

Donna Lopiano is the outspoken and nationally respected executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation. Her organization has been a leading advocate in creating public pressure for the women*s sports issues. Lopiano, and many other women*s sports leaders, are being called to the mat about the dramatic loss of male sports opportunities caused by Title IX enforcement.

In her regular article in Street's and Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, Lopiano addresses this situation in a May 31 column entitled "There's No Economic Justification for disobeying Title IX." What she writes sounds pretty good - that she is against the elimination of men*s teams to comply with Title IX. Consider these passages from her article:

* "Schools often cite insufficient finances to add more sports opportunities for women, cut a men's non-revenue sport and use these funds to start a new women's team. When alumni and students complain, the institution blames the law and female athletes."

* "The last alternative should be cutting opportunities for students to participate in an educational activity."

* "Unfortunately, at most institutions, it is easier for a college president to cut wrestling or men's gymnastics than to deal with the politics of reducing the football or men*s basketball budgets. Simply put, the educational leaders need more guts to step up and do the right thing."

Sounds pretty positive, right? However, on May 13, when Lopiano was probably working on the draft of this article, you could have visited the Women's Sports Foundation web page to discover what the organization is doing to push hard for proportionality quotas.

A sample letter is provided for use by citizens to complain to the federal government for more change. It is addressed to Norma Cantu, Director of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in Washington, D.C. Basically, the letter is asking Cantu's office to withhold federal funds from a college, any college, as an example for all colleges that they must do more to comply with Title IX. Consider these statements in the sample letter to the OCR on the Women's Sports Foundation web page:

* "However, it seems that the Office of Civil Rights could make an example of an institution that has been particularly inattentive to their women athletics and is in serious violation of federal law by beginning procedures to withdraw federal funds. This would send a clear message that early compliance is less costly than waiting for a review or a lawsuit."

* "It is upsetting that 27 years after the adoption of Title IX the majority of high schools and colleges are still not offering equal opportunity athletic programs. Initiating action to withdraw federal funds from one institution that is not in compliance would send a clear message to all institutions that are not in compliance."

* "Federal law must be enforced. Institutions must recognize the importance and value of providing their female athletes with athletic opportunities comparable to the opportunities afforded male athletes."

So, when leaders, like Lopiano, say they are against the elimination of men*s sports opportunities, pay attention to what their organizations are actually doing that affects men's sports teams. Pushing the federal government to withdraw federal funds from a college to make an example for other schools, and create a true "chilling effect" on campus, is certainly not helping save men*s sports teams.

AMERICA NEEDS SPORTS DAY PROVIDES NATIONAL FOCUS ON TITLE IX ISSUES

Members of the national media and Washington D.C. political community were exposed to information on the unintended consequences of Title IX during a series of activities during America Needs Sports Day, held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, May 27. The event was coordinated by the National Coalition for Athletics Equity (NCAE), a Washington-based organization dedicated to preserving sports opportunities for all.

The day began with a luncheon in the Speaker's Dining Room at the U.S. Capitol, hosted by former wrestler and Congressman James Leach of Iowa and the Iowa and Oklahoma Congressional delegations. Numerous members of the Sportsman's Caucus, the Capitol Hill staff and sports fans attended the function.

The NCAE presented awards during the luncheon, including its first Build Life - Winners Through Sports Award to wrestling legend Dan Gable. Others to receive Build Life awards were Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert and Senator Paul Wellstone, who were wrestlers, as well as former wrestler General Charles C. Krulak of the U.S. Marines and wrestling leader H. Clay McEldowney.

Michael C. Copperthite, the executive director of the NCAE, told those in attendance that "today is to celebrate sport and what equal and fair sports opportunities means to all Americans... We are also here to point out a problem and ask Congress to please look at what is happening to sports which is caused by government and a bad quota policy."

After the luncheon, a wrestling clinic for nearly 300 kids was held on the East Lawn of the Capitol on a bright, sunny day. Speaker Hastert addressed the group, along with Gable, two-time Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner and World champion Lloyd Keaser. Former college stars Temoer Terry, Wade Hughes, Charlie Branch and Chris Marshall also participated in the activities. Hundreds of autographs were signed by the wrestling stars. The day completed with a special banquet at the Palms, a downtown establishment.

Numerous press interviews were given during the day, including major national outlets ABC, CBS, NBC and wire services AP, UPI and Reuters. It was a positive day for those seeking change in Title IX enforcement.

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