Posted on 05/28/2002 1:48:54 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor
The Bush administration is considering suspending or significantly revising federal regulations governing gender equity in sports, according to sources close to federal civil-rights agencies. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday, when the U.S. Department of Justice must file a response to a lawsuit filed against the Department of Education by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and other groups.
The coaches argue that, in monitoring the conduct of athletics departments, the Education Department uses a "quota system" to enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funds. The regulations provide three options for complying with the federal law: A college must have roughly the same proportion of women among its varsity athletes as it has in its undergraduate student body; it must have a "history and continuing practice" of expanding opportunities for women in sports; or it must demonstrate that it is "fully and effectively accommodating the interests and abilities" of women on its campus.
Courts and athletics directors have said that meeting the first test, known as "substantial proportionality," is a safe harbor for colleges to avoid lawsuits by female athletes and investigations by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. However, substantial proportionality amounts to a quota limiting the number of male athletes, the wrestling coaches argue, because some colleges have capped men's rosters and dropped men's teams instead of expanding opportunities for women. The most popular sports to drop have been gymnastics, swimming, tennis, track and field, and wrestling.
The wrestling coaches' association, along with groups representing track and field and swimming coaches, sued in March to stop the Education Department from enforcing the substantial-proportionality test. The Justice Department was supposed to file its response to the suit last week, but a last-minute addition of another college-sports advocacy group as a plaintiff in the lawsuit gave the department until May 29.
The Bush administration is said to be divided on how to revise Title IX regulations, and women's-sports activists and education analysts have speculated that the Justice Department will announce in legal documents related to the case that the Education Department will suspend enforcement of Title IX in college sports pending a review of the regulations. A spokesman for the Justice Department was not aware of the lawsuit, and one from the Education Department did not return a telephone call Monday.
Michael Moyer, executive director of the wrestling coaches' association, said he had not heard specifically what the Justice Department would announce, but agreed that a suspension would be a major victory.
"We're prepared to do whatever it takes to eliminate the gender quota from the interpretation" of Title IX, he said. "We completely embrace Title IX, and we want to restore it to its original intent. There shouldn't be any gender discrimination, period, regardless of gender, and there's serious discrimination going on against men, as evidenced by roster-management practices and the complete elimination of men's teams."
Norma V. Cantú, the assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department of President Bill Clinton, said it would be highly unusual for the department to cease enforcement of a broad array of civil-rights laws.
"They've never done it before," said Ms. Cantú, now a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin's School of Law. "This would be the first administration to just freeze things."
Advocates of women's sports predicted serious political consequences for the Bush administration and other Republicans if they did anything that might be perceived as hurting women's sports.
"There are a whole bunch of soccer moms who are going to be a little upset," said Donna A. Lopiano, director of the Women's Sports Foundation. "This generation of women, for the first time, they're hearing that they shouldn't be equal -- that's going to be the message. I don't think that's going to resonate."
Sheldon E. Steinbach, general counsel for the American Council on Education, said he thought that colleges would respond to such a move in much the same way they did in 1984, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title IX applied only to specific programs that received federal funds directly, rather than to all programs at an institution that received federal funds for any of its programs. In 1987, Congress passed a law that undercut the Supreme Court's ruling.
"Even if it's suspended, schools will observe the spirit of the law as their commitment to gender equity in athletics," Mr. Steinbach said. "It's been 30 years now, and the enormous gains that have been made to achieve equality in the treatment of men's and women's athletics has been extraordinary. No school I know of is looking for any loophole in order to erode the progress. that has been made."
It looks like very good news, especially if you're involved in any of the less popular men's sports.
Well, boo-hoo! I'm sure they were going to vote for W anyway. I'm sick of hearing about soccer moms.
Equality to soccer moms is that women should get special treatment.
I watched a foot race the other day. The first person got an award and money. The second thru the 13th (all men) didn't get anything. The 14th person, a woman, got an award and money. How could this be? Equality!?! The playing field was level from my point of view.
When I was in high school (pop. 3500) i was unable to get onto the Varsity soccer teem. I was faster and stronger then any of the women in my class or any other class for that matter. These same women can get college scolarships for their athletic abilities based on being a woman. Equality my a$$.
I have heard that if a girl is good in soccer she is just about guaranteed a college scholarship. Title IX has a lot to do with sports scholarship money too. Not just fielding women's teams.
In 68 I had scholorships in mens gymnastics, hey the war intervened but today there are none for mens gymnastics. Do these socker moms not have sons. Now they compete in the marine corps. Hey mom get a life. REGARDS
I notice a whole lot of people buying into college degrees which have little to do with aquired knowledge, and more to to with "sports".
Higher education in this country has been hi-jacked since "education" deferrals got wealthy students out of the draft in the 60s & 70s.Now, all those highly educated idiots are in the government.
Folks, higher education in this country is a major business.I see no evidence of it improving society.To the contrary, I see many degree holders who should be pumping gas based on the level of mental dexterity they attained at our universities.
Sports are fun, big money opportunities, but not really related to the attainment of "higher education". If professional football wants to pay for a students degree, then let them pay. Don't let entertainment industries totally destroy education.Especially on my dime!
What does scholarship have to do with theater, dance, cooking, women's studies, ethnic studies, etcetera? Colleges have always had athletics; are you also saying why learn about the ancient Greeks; it won't help you get a job?
BTW, this whole contentious issue is about how EXTREMELY IMPORTANT athletics are to females, for their social, emotional, and physical development. You won't find many allies in the feminist movement (or anywhere else), for removing athletics from college curriculum.
The feminazi quota queens are going to use this like a baseball bat, to demagogue and batter Bush and Reynolds over the head with. Of course, the key to their success will be the level of ignorance the American public has over what exactly Title IX is, and what its enforcement does.
I notice Nat Review, and now George Will in Newsweak have addressed this problem. This is the perfect place to draw a line in the sand, against quotas. The next goal for the lesbian femisists is quotas in the classroom; ie. " Theres too many men in Engineering !!", and so on. If Gore was President, thats exactly what we would be reading about, now. IMO.
It's even worse than that. When my university decided to put together a women's soccer program, they used scholarship money to recruit 'student-athletes' (read: ringers) from Canada, South Africa and elsewhere. This was with money earned by the football program, and transferred from other sports, such as men's wrestling, which catered to local Midwestern athletes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.