|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ralph Nader
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 5, 2003
12:16 PM
|
CONTACT:
Ralph Nader
(202) 387-8030
Shawn McCarthy (202) 387-8030
|
|
|
|
Ralph Nader and League of Fans Ask Secretary
Paige to Reject Commission Recommendations that would Undermine
Title IX
|
|
|
| March
5 - Responding to the report recently released by the Commission
on Opportunity in Athletics, Ralph Nader and League of Fans sent
a letter today to Secretary of Education Roderick Paige urging
him to reject all recommendations that would potentially allow
schools to reduce the number of athletic opportunities and scholarships
they are currently obligated to provide women under Title IX.
Title IX bars sex discrimination in any educational program or
activity that receives federal funding, including athletics. The
letter follows.
Dear Secretary
Paige,
We are writing
to voice our strong support for Title IX one of the most important
and successful civil rights laws in U.S. history and to express
our concern over the recommendations made to you by the Commission
on Opportunity in Athletics to undermine the enforcement of Title
IX.
As you know,
Title IX has affected positive change in this country for over
three decades. Prior to Title IX, if a woman wanted to pursue
a professional degree in college, she could be passed over for
a law school or medical school program simply because she was
a woman. Similarly, opportunities for girls' and women's sports
participation at all levels was absurdly deficient. Since then,
Title IX has been a vital tool in advancing equal opportunities
for women and girls in the classroom and on the playing field.
But the benefits
of Title IX are not limited to opening opportunities for girls
and women who are happier, healthier and more confident because
they have played sports. Nor do the benefits end with the countless
women who have gone on to successful careers and trace their accomplishments
back to Title IX. What Title IX has achieved in influencing boys
and men who respect girls and women and their athletic, academic
and workplace abilities is every bit as important and nothing
short of remarkable.
From the very
start, your creation of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics
was widely believed to be a vehicle to push a pre-determined Bush
Administration agenda to weaken Title IX. Heavily weighted to
oppose Title IX, the Commission voted to recommend scaling the
law back based on misguided arguments blaming Title IX for the
elimination of some "lower profile" men's sports (men's sports
opportunities actually continue to grow), rather than the increasingly
excessive and irresponsible spending on the college football and
men's basketball "arms races." The Commission has perpetuated
offensive stereotypes that girls and women are not as interested
or as talented in playing sports as men -- a bias that civil rights
laws like Title IX seek to eliminate.
Despite their
heroic efforts in defense of Title IX, Commission members Julie
Foudy and Donna de Varona were heavily outnumbered both in terms
of the unbalanced composition of the Commission and witness testimony
that was skewed.
With ten out
of the fifteen Commissioners affiliated with Division 1-A schools
(most of them administrators or coaches from big-time football
schools or conferences) with the most self-interest in weakening
Title IX, representation was clearly slanted. So too was the witness
testimony with panelists hand-picked by the Department of Education
testifying two-to-one against current Title IX standards while
many civil rights activists and legal experts in favor of Title
IX were not heard.
Despite the
gains women have made under Title IX, resources for women's sports
have never caught up to resources for men's sports at most colleges
and universities. Women are still being discriminated against,
with over 80 percent of schools still not in compliance with Title
IX. Women's athletic programs continue to lag behind men's programs
by every measurable criterion, including participation opportunities,
athletic scholarships, operating budgets and recruiting expenditures.
While 56 percent
of our college populations are female, female athletes still receive
only 42 percent of all college athletic participation opportunities,
36 percent of sports operating expenditures, 32 percent of athlete
recruitment spending, and 42 percent of athletic scholarship money
-- amounting to $133 million less than male athletes receive in
scholarships each year.
Your recent
statement that the Department of Education will move forward only
on recommendations that received unanimous agreement of the Commission
is a step in the right direction, but not a satisfactory commitment
to protecting the Title IX policies that guarantee equal opportunity
for women and girls. In their Minority Report, Commission members
Foudy and de Varona raised serious objections to the entire document
and explicitly dissented from a few of what were characterized
as "consensus" recommendations. Foudy and de Varona say they unsuccessfully
"urged another meeting of the full Commission to carefully review
the language and impact of the final report," prior to publication.
Upon review of the report's treatment of some supposed "consensus"
recommendations as drafted, they made clear that they did not
agree with the report's formulations of previous points of agreement.
Foudy and de
Varona argue that the Commission recommendations (many of which
"would seriously weaken Title IX's protections and substantially
reduce the opportunities to which women and girls are entitled
under current law") are the result of a flawed process that failed
to address key issues or "reflect an understanding of the discrimination
women and girls still face in obtaining equal opportunity in athletics."
This criticism applies as well to the misnamed "consensus" recommendations.
In moving forward, you should give careful attention to the Minority
Report's recommendations, which were crafted with an eye toward
enhancing opportunities for both women and girls, and men and
boys.
Parents want
our sons and daughters to know that they are equally valued and
will receive equitable opportunities to play and be treated fairly
in athletics and in life. If your goal is to undermine Title IX
and the positive change the law has affected for more than three
decades, you will be sending a message to women, men, girls and
boys that their rights and abilities are different and unequal.
We urge you
to reject the recommendations (12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23
and the unnumbered recommendation) that would potentially allow
schools to reduce the number of athletic opportunities and scholarships
they are currently obligated to provide women under Title IX.
Make no mistake about it, if you choose to support any of those
proposals, you will be supporting discrimination against women
at educational institutions that receive federal funds.
Until women
have the same opportunities as men to enjoy the psychological,
physiological and sociological benefits that sports participation
can provide, your duty is to preserve and vigorously strengthen
the enforcement of Title IX.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
###
|
|
|
Common Dreams NewsCenter is a non-profit news service
providing breaking news and views for the Progressive Community.
The
press release posted here has been provided to Common Dreams NewsWire by
one of the many progressive organizations who make up America's Progressive Community.
If
you wish to comment on this press release or would like more information,
please contact the organization directly.
*all times Eastern US (GMT-5:00)
Making News?
Read our Guidelines
for Submitting News Releases
© Copyright
1997-2003 Common Dreams.
www.commondreams.org
|
|
