Video: athletes see the differences in treatment

September 26, 2022
Author events Book news sexual assault Sports Title IX

Rather than read the case files of recent Title IX lawsuits, you can easily get the picture through this short video of athletes describing how they see differences in their schools’ treatment of girls’ and boys’ sports. In this case, it’s royal treatment for baseball and shabbier treatment for softball. It’s an age-old story, unfortunately. A half-century after Title IX outlawed this kind of discrimination, it’s all too common. Girls (and their parents) still have to sue to get school officials to fix it. And girls everywhere almost always win those suits. (Top photo: A screen shot of an athlete in the video.)

One of the fun things about this video by the California Women’s Law Center and an accompanying story by Extra Inning Softball is that they name the attorney who helped girls at one Nebraska high school get justice. Look around — if you think a high school in your area is giving boys’ sports better treatment than girls’ sports, you might want to contact the Law Center or that attorney. And while you’re at it, write to your Congressional representative and U.S. senators and demand that they pass legislation requiring high schools to disclose statistics about their boys’ and girls’ sports, like colleges are required to do by the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act. That would make it a lot easier to prove discrimination.

Elsewhere

Old North Tower, University of Central Oklahoma (JDessary via Wikimedia Commons)

Women athletes sued the University of Central Oklahoma under Title IX for discrimination and retaliation. After a parent threatened to file a Title IX complaint, the Teutopolis (Ill.) Unit 50 school board is considering conducting a self-audit to assess whether it is complying with the law. A judge ruled that St. Cloud (Minn.) State University has partially improved equity in athletics since 10 women students sued six years ago, but it still hasn’t shown that it is complying with Title IX.

An external review found that Michigan State University still struggles to handle complaints of sexual misconduct under Title IX, leading critics to note the need for a culture change, not just individual steps to rectify discrimination. A jury sided with a woman’s lawsuit against Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. for discrimination under Title IX and awarded her $10,000 in damages. Subsequently, Purdue announced it would not change its Title IX policies. The Huntsville City (Ark.) School District superintendent and a former coach were charged with failing to report sexual abuse of students, after the district admitted liability in an earlier lawsuit over sexual assault. Two graduates of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. sued the school for mishandling sexual assault reports. Police charged a Pennsylvania State University professor with stalking a woman faculty member. Protesters turned out at a Weatherford (Tex.) College presidential luncheon in support of a woman who sued the college for sexual harassment and discrimination by its president.

On the up side

Any time you want a shot of encouragement in the struggle against sexual misconduct on campus, click on over to The Courage Brief, the newsletter of the Center for Institutional Courage. The latest issue, for example, contains many doses of uplifting news, from dedication of a Courage Garden on one campus to an examination of “obstetric gaslighting” (remember, you’ve got to name it to change it) and an impressive list of recent research and publications about institutional betrayal and institutional courage.

Also, Virginia high school students around the state walked out of classes to protest proposed state guidelines that they called discriminatory against transgender students. Lastly — last week I talked about Banned Books Week, remember? It’s good to know that the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Library is making banned books available in digital version to anyone in the United States.

Where you’ll find me

Out on the campaign trails, that’s where! Our democracy needs us right now to volunteer for canvassing, phone banking, poll working, and generally getting out the vote for the November 8 elections. Could you contact three friends this week to make sure they have plans to vote? I’ll be volunteering in New Hampshire. Other than that, look for me here:

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Central — The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Women in Law hosts an online conversation with me as part of their “Ex Libris” authors series. Register here.

Monday, October 24, 5 p.m. — Le Moyne College invited me to speak on Title IX. If you’re near Syracuse, N.Y., come through!

Friday, October 28, 2022, 9 a.m. Central — I’ll be an in-person panelist at Northwestern University’s three-day conference, “Title IX at 50: Past. Present. Future?”

November 12, 2022 — I’m looking forward to two appearances at the National Women’s Studies Association conference in Minneapolis. Join me first at a 9:30 a.m. panel on “Women’s Politics: Finding a Way Out of No Way,” and then at a Feminist Author Showcase at 1:15 p.m. Central time.

February 2023 — I’ll speak at Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics in Ames, Iowa. Stay tuned for details.

*** Would you like to set up an in-person or Zoom session with me for your organization or book club? Reach me through my Contact page.***

The Nation magazine published an excerpt from my chapter 5, which introduces Title IX’s application in the movement against sexual violence. I published an article in the Washington Post’s Made by History section, this one on “The true mother of Title IX. And why it matters now more than ever.” The Christian Science Monitor included 37 Words in two articles — a cover storyon “Title IX at 50” and a sidebar examining the racial gap among women athletes in colleges. Read about the Supreme Court’s history of curtailing Title IX and other civil rights laws in my article in The Washington Post Made by History section. The Washington Monthly gave 37 Words a fine review — check it out. The Wall Street Journal published a review of my book and I wrote a Letter to the Editor correcting some misinformation in that review. See other previous appearances and media coverage of 37 Words listed here.