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Ashley Edwards

Professor Stubee

College Composition II

Evaluative Argument

Disregard of the Title IX

As American culture shows us year after year, laws must be passed in order to protect its

people and set limitations so there is a mutual understanding of what is acceptable and what is

not. Flashback to about 50 years ago, students where not getting anywhere near the amount of

equal rights that there are today; I say students specifically because the Title IX was part of the

Education Amendments Act of 1972, but athletes and adults in the academic workplace were

affected as well. Explicitly, the Title IX was implemented to “prohibit discrimination on the

basis of sex for all educational programs and activities that receive funding through the Federal

Student Aid program and other federal assistance programs” (Opposing Viewpoints Online

Collection, Gale, 2018). When looking into the coverage of schools by the Title IX law, it can

range anywhere from Prekindergarten to universities and colleges. Although the Title IX’s initial

motive was to be an equal opportunity law that prohibited sex discrimination within the

educational system, it rapidly became correlated with gender equality for male and female

athletes.

Let’s take a quick look into the ideal future. One of USA Today’s sports journalists, Christine

Brennan, paints us a vivid picture of what our society would look like if the Title IX was given

the attention it should be given as years pass.

“Women have been president of the United States for so long that men are starting to
wonder when they'll get the chance again. It has been 22 consecutive years, we think,
although it's easy
to lose count.
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There are 60 women in the U.S. Senate and 250 in the House of Representatives. There
are so many female doctors and lawyers in America that it is becoming rarer every day to
hire a male lawyer or go to a male doctor. In fact, some make the point that they "go to a
male doctor," a twist on the "woman doctor" adage from their grandparents' day.
Women have taken over quite a few board rooms. Hundreds are in charge of universities
and major corporations. A record number own or run sports teams, in the pros and in
college.
What does this have to do with the girl next door playing weekend soccer, or your
daughter playing on her high school volleyball team, or your niece playing AAU
basketball?
Everything” (Brennan, USA Today, 22 June 2017).

Anyone today would most likely say that a world like that will never exist, that Brennen is being

over-optimistic…and that’s the problem. The Title IX, although created long after it was needed,

came at the perfect time because if any later, women would be struggling on a day to day basis

even more than we already do. 1972 marked the year that Congresswoman Edith Green and

Senator Birch Bayh presented the Title IX law to Congress and got it passed several months

following. The law has become a major success and has given females of all ages their right to

not only equality, but equity. Having the opportunity to get an education, participate in athletics

with proper funding, and obtain jobs and careers that don’t make decisions based off of gender is

a woman’s right just as it is for men.

To really understand what the Title IX is and what it entails, it helps to know the infractions

of this law and what constitutes an infraction as well. Violations include subjects such as gender

discrimination, sexual harassment, sex violence, retaliation, and hostile environments.

Researchers at Ventura College assist us in knowing such violations and examples of them too.

The first infraction recognized is that of gender discrimination which Title IX describes as:

Discrimination or harassment based upon one's gender, unfair treatment or attitudes towards an

individual based on their gender, sexist attitudes and sex stereotyping, and unproportionate

athletic programs or activities offered to all genders at their corresponding university. The next
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infraction being sexual harassment is expressed by the Title IX as: Unwanted sexual behavior,

advances, or requests for favors and unwelcomed verbal, visual, or physical sexual conduct;

Offensive, severe, and/or frequent remarks about a person's sex. Although these are said to be the

most frequent and newsworthy Title IX infringements, especially on college and university

campuses, other violations make surprising appearances as well.

Our very own Rowan University has been caught in the middle of a recent Title IX

investigation surrounding retaliation and hostile environments on campus. Sunny, sweltering

days in South Jersey may seem like just another beach day for most, but not so much for the

athletes who are working hard and sweating their buts off in the heat. As an athlete here at

Rowan, I can attest and say it isn’t easy at all to be out in the heat shedding blood, sweat, and

tears. Athletes of all sports are seen during those times diving down Carpenter Street, passing the

worshiped Richard Wacker Stadium. More times than none, what do you see? The glistening

sweat dripping off shirtless football player and other male athletes. We never stop to think

anything other than “they are putting in hard work”, or “wow they must be dying out there”. It’s

just the norm to see a shirtless male working out, but once a female DARES wear a sports bra

while running tirelessly out in the heat and working on being the best athlete they can be, it is a

huge problem. Those ladies, all of which happen to be my teammates, were labeled as

“distractions” by the coaches of a male dominant team on campus, that of which you can

probably guess. Rowan student and former Cross-Country runner, Gina Capone, stood up for her

teammates and wrote a strong article for the Odyssey that went viral almost instantly. She

strongly states, “Women, whether they have a six-pack or not, run in sports bras because, quite

frankly, it’s hot outside. We run in sports bras because our workouts are demanding, challenging,

and vigorous…We do not run in a sports bra as a way to show off our bodies in attempts to
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distract men.” That article was only the beginning of what Rowan University and its Athletic

Administration would hear from female athletes, students, and their supporters. Until the Rowan

Athletic Department realizes that what they are doing is wrong, there will never be a change. All

they care about in the moment is covering themselves so that they look good. They use words

like “minor” and “slight” to make it seem like the issue at hand isn’t as big as it is.

As it was a very sticky situation to deal with as a University, they had to make sure they

took the right steps toward solving the issues erupted by this scandal. After multiple

unprofessional encounters initiated by the coaches of the male athletic team towards our head

coach, it was clear that there were several violations of the Title IX law. The subject of

retaliation was shown through the reaction of the upset coach because of a filed complaint

against him and his colleagues. Another infraction was under the subject of a hostile

environment. Our coach, Derrick Adamson, has had countless interviews and meetings every day

from then on and they all ask the same questions. He warns us at practice to stay away from

posting anything on social media about the scandal and even though we get where he is coming

from, it is still unfair because we feel like we are being silenced. Once again, they push us in the

background and try to hide the issue. The Ventura College research identifies that a hostile

environment is defined as, “a setting that denies, limits, or interferes with a person's ability to

participate in or benefit from a program, activity, or job” (Definitions and Examples of Title IX

Violations, Ventura College). The coach’s offensive comments triggered not only the Cross-

Country athletes, but other female athletes who felt like they weren’t respected and treated fairly

in comparison to the male athletes. But to no avail, Rowan announces that no clear infractions

were found within the case and once again another male is let off the hook. The Title IX law
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has made a huge difference in the development of achievements of women in professional sports,

business, and politics, but clearly the long journey women have traveled is not yet over.
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Bibliography

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https://www.venturacollege.edu/college-information/about-ventura-college/title-ix/definitions

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