Title IX

Men’s Athletics and Title IX Title IX was passed in 1972 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 and it protects both women and men from discrimination based on sex. The 1972 version of Title IX does not mention sports or athletics once (Goldman, 2012). In 1975, Title IX was updated to prohibit sex discrimination of athletes at educational institutions who received federal funding (Owoc, n.d.). The update required that any athlete competing in interscholastic, club, intercollegiate or intramural activity be given equal opportunity for members of both sexes (United States Education Amendments, 1972). Following the passing of the 1975 update, many institutions began to comply and offer equal opportunity to female athletes; however, some argue men’s athletics took a huge step back (Owoc, n.d.). Since 1981, universities have canceled more than 2,000 men’s athletics teams to remain in compliance with the proportionality requirement of Title IX. Since the inclusion of equal opportunity in athletics, many proposed amendments have been introduced to exclude athletics from Title IX, but all have failed. In 1975 and 1977, amendments were proposed to exclude sports that were income generating. Athletics had a small opening with the case Grove City College v. Bell (1984), which ruled that …show more content…
Female athletes still see major gaps when it comes to representation of minorities and protections under Title IX. A mindset of male athletes feeling discriminated against is growing and professionals should address this by discussing the history and necessity of Title IX. Using facts provided by the NCAA should be used to show the reasoning behind scholarship caps and help educate the student athletes further. We should not shy away from Title IX conversations but encourage them with students, staff, and