Women in sports. Forty years ago, few ever got an equal chance to see that. Title IX set out to change that backward way of thinking. That, and legendary female tennis player Billie Jean King.
Title IX was the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education that passed in 1972. King showed this country what could happen if women were given an equal chance. Today, few can comprehend the logic of women being denied that right.
Take a moment to applaud the steps taken over the past 40 years.
The applause is over. There is still work our society must do.
How many women do you see coaching Division I men’s college basketball? Or college football? How many women do you see coaching men or boys sports at any level? Or women athletic directors? Or front office personnel in pro sports, say a general manager or owner?
The answer: not enough.
The world of sports writing is doing its part with a concerted effort to hire more women. The major professional sports leagues, all levels of college and high school sports should follow those efforts. If they do, 40 years from now, fans might see a woman coach the Denver Broncos.
Longmont (Colo.) Times-Call (July 3)
Very good points. UMaine does its part. Male and female athletes alike are privileged, given unique perks unavailable to other students, praised in big ads in the local press for academic achievement, given their own computer clusters and tutors, and, not least, given first crack at courses even as first-year students with the argument that they’re more important to UMaine than all other students. A senior who is not on a varsity sport must choose his/her courses AFTER an entering student on a varsity team. A common practice in schools like UMaine in which athletics trumps all else.