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Posted on 07/09/2003 2:02:21 PM PDT by Brookhaven
It's a tough position to argue.
There isn't really a way to make statements against Title IX without accusations of being sexist or trying to detract from the progress made by women's athletics in the last 25 years. A disagreement about the way Title IX is being implemented is often misunderstood as a criticism of the law and its spirit.
But it's an even tougher position to watch the sport that you've loved all your life die before your eyes. A sport you played in high school and college, a sport that shaped a large part of who you are. The competition, the triumphs, the dedication, the friendships -- athletes gain so much from sports that they carry with them throughout their lives. It isn't fair to ask them to turn their backs on the sports they love.
But many involved in wrestling and other so-called minor men's sports feel they now face the difficult choice of remaining silent or losing their sports to budget cuts and Title IX compliance.
The number of college wrestling programs has fallen from more than 400 in the 1970s to 257 last year. Wrestling is dropped by more athletic departments than any other sport, including 12 from 1992-95.
"In order to accomplish what is supposedly gender equity, it's very easy to cut men's sports," Michigan State wrestling coach Tom Minkel said. "Administrators are taking the easy way. It's a good law that's being applied poorly."
Surprisingly, college wrestling seems to be most threatened at a time when high school wrestling is quickly growing and American wrestlers are experiencing great international success.
"We've just made so much advancement in the last five years, and we're losing support for the sport," said Kerry McCoy, a Penn State wrestler and NCAA heavyweight champion. "If we had the support of a Division I football team, think how much greater this country could become in wrestling."
But because many schools are under pressure to comply with Title IX, wrestling is a prime target of athletic administrators. That is mostly because there is no comparable women's sport to balance the ratio of female/male athletes.
"A lot of people that are pro-Title IX really support men's sports, too. A lot of people would look at it and say equal is better," McCoy said. "It's just tough to make up a 200-year gap in 10 years."
It is the methods being used to enforce Title IX, rather than the law itself, that frustrates many players and coaches. Few of them will argue against providing opportunities for females athletes, but they say the focus on reaching compliance based on the ratio of male/female athletes is unfair.
"Title IX doesn't specifically say -- and that's the problem -- don't take away from men's opportunities," Syracuse wrestler Mario Mercado said. "It's not the athletes' fault. It's the administrators' fault for not implementing Title IX in a responsible way."
Mercado recently experienced the negative side of Title IX when Syracuse decided to drop its wrestling program. In an unusual move, the decision was announced during wrestling season, leaving the wrestlers a few months rather than a year to plan the rest of their college careers.
"No one really knows what to do. (The wrestlers) like it here. They've made friends here," Mercado said. "It's like starting college all over again. To me, that decision-making process is a year in the making. They should have informed the coaches and the wrestlers."
With the announcement that a women's lacrosse team will be added in 1998 and softball in 2000, Mercado said Syracuse's decision to drop wrestling was clearly made because of Title IX rather than budgetary constraints.
"To cut any sport and then add another sport, regardless of gender, is ridiculous," Mercado said. "Title IX was meant to be a good thing, but it's been distorted. It's been used as a scapegoat to take away from men's opportunities."
Few proponents of Title IX and women's athletics support cutting men's programs to achieve equity. Penn State reached compliance with Title IX by adding women's soccer rather than cutting the popular victims of wrestling, men's swimming, gymnastics and lacrosse.
"The issue and the challenge becomes: How are you assuring that people have access to programs?" said Ellen Perry, Penn State associate athletic director. "It was never the intent to deny opportunities to men. How do we do this and be fair?"
One solution proposed by many athletes and coaches is to remove football from all discussion of Title IX. They argue since there is no comparable women's sport to football, an unfair burden is placed on smaller men's sports to ensure equity is achieved.
Since football teams can have more than 100 members, they make it very difficult to achieve an equal ratio of male/female athletes. And since football teams can support both men's and women's programs with the revenue they bring in, it is argued football should be in its own category in college athletics.
"Football teams do so much for a university. It's really unfair to unduly penalize them," McCoy said. "But there are a lot of men athletes who are getting hurt because football teams are so sheltered."
But with a large percentage of some athletic budgets coming from one or two big sports, such as football, administrators are reluctant to risk losing future revenue by cutting those budgets. And as long as a fraction of a football team's revenue can support an entire wrestling budget, some coaches are happy to leave football alone.
"I think it's easy to forget that money for these programs comes entirely from football and basketball," Minkel said. "It's easy to always go to them."
But many in the wrestling community feel something must be done to save the sport at the collegiate level. Increased high school participation, Olympic medals and record ticket sales at the 1997 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships may not be enough to stop the decline in wrestling programs across the country.
"I would like to say in the next five years, we're safe," McCoy said. "But I'm sure they thought that 10 years ago."
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world. There are participants in every country in the world. It is a shame to see it being slowly eliminated in the United States.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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"In order to accomplish what is supposedly gender equity, it's very easy to cut men's sports," Michigan State wrestling coach Tom Minkel said. "Administrators are taking the easy way. It's a good law that's being applied poorly."
What an idiot. He’s watching the law destroy the sport he’s made a career out of, but he’s still so mamby-pamby and indoctrinated, he feels compelled to mutter “It’s a good law.”
It’s a very shitty law, Tom. Grow some balls.
Maybe they can get wrestling put under the political science department instead of the althletic department?
No comparable women's sport?
How about Jell-O wrestling?? Huh??
Pro-wraslers couldn't wrestle themselves out of a paper bag. Most would be totaly lost in a real match.
Amateur wrestling is a lot different. It is a real sport with real athletes. I played football, basketball, some soccer, and wrestled. Wrestling was, by far, the most physically demanding of any of those sports.
That's why a number of schools have designated cheerleading as a competetive sport.
Next time you watch a college game, remember that several of the cheerleaders are probably there on full athletic scholarships.
Dubya, you and Hobbes can run the camera.
Too true. Although, when I was a younger man, and watched that trash, I did see Tony Garrea execute a sit-out/turn-in while on all fours in an old WWF match back in the '70's. It was very sloppy and he failed to reverse his opponent, but the move was unmistakable.
Another big beef I have is that no matter who covers the Olympics, televised coverage of the best athletes in the world is comprised of approximately 15 minutes of one or two matches spread over 2 weeks of sport. I mean, if it wasn't for wrestling...there would be no Olympics!
Brought to you by Richard Nixon.
ML/NJ
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