http://archive.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/opinion/17MON1.html
The Attack on Women's Sports Title IX, the landmark law that has greatly expanded opportunities for girls and women to engage in sports, is in danger of being watered down. A Bush administration commission has recommended changes that would give schools, colleges and universities more leeway to favor men's and boys' athletics. There is nothing wrong with helping men's and boys' programs, but not at the expense of women and girls. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which requires schools to treat the two sexes equally, has helped to drive a revolution, especially in sports. The number of girls participating in high school sports since it went into effect has soared from roughly 294,000 to more than 2.7 million. But as female opportunities have increased, participants in men's and boys' programs � particularly smaller ones, like wrestling � have complained that the gains have come at their expense. The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, appointed by Education Secretary Rod Paige, approved proposals last month that would modify how schools are judged on their compliance with Title IX. One proposal would weaken the law's "proportionality" rule, which requires that the percentage of women athletes should match women's enrollment. The commission wants to let schools count the number of sports slots they offer to women, even slots that are not filled. Another would let schools give greater resources to men if the education secretary decided the disparity was "reasonable." The commission's recommendations would create enough exceptions to significantly undermine the equality that Title IX has always stood for. Women make up 56 percent of students in higher education, but only 42 percent of college athletes, and on some campuses, men's programs receive twice the financing women's do. Instead of trying to rob women's sports, schools should look for ways to make financing within men's sports more equitable. Top football programs pay their coaches more than $1 million a year, shower luxuries on their players and inflate rosters. Since the average college wrestling program costs $330,000 a year, redirecting just a small part of the football budget could go a very long way. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
