By Tyler Leland, CJ 370

For all the males out there, there have been certain liberties — luxuries if you will — that we’ve been granted throughout time that have come without effort, reflection or struggle. But being a male in sports isn’t anything of interest, there is no real story there. For decades, if a man wanted to play a sport, he went to the field or court and he was accepted. He may have had to overcome some physical shortcoming, but he was accepted, he was allowed to play. Women on the other hand, have had to work for acceptance and equality in an area of our society that has been predominantly run by males.

March Madness is a time for every sports fan to fill out their brackets, and hope that their picks don’t completely ruin their month, or their viewing pleasures. But what March Madness also does is show the world who is the best and who is at the top. It can be argued that the men’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina this past season is one of the greatest men’s team of all time, with their stunning ability to always make the shot when it counts. And as dominant a force that this team was, there was still a better team playing basketball this year, a team that dominated every opponent it faced throughout the season. That team was the women’s basketball team of the University of Connecticut. The women Huskies went an incredible 39-0 this season, winning the National Championship, solidifying themselves as a dominant dynasty in NCAA women’s basketball. But what needed to have happened years prior for women to be able to show the world that they are capable of such greatness?

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX, giving women of all ages equal opportunity to play sports. All schools must have an equal number of women’s sports as they do men's’. Thus, the strive for equality amongst the sexes in sports began.

“There once was a time, when there were no summer baseball leagues for us girls ... I remember calling up every coach in the county asking them if they allowed girls to play on their teams,” said Kathy Cohen, former University of Oklahoma State basketball player, reflecting back to when she was a child.

“When I wanted to play a sport in high school, I just went to the office and signed up,” said JoLeisa Cramer, current University of Nebraska rugby player, looking back just a couple of years.

Like with all generations, the younger ones tend to not know, or fully comprehend, the struggle that their parents or even their grandparents faced, not just in sports, but with life. Men and women in decades past have faced and stared down countless numbers of obstacles to provide for their children a life that they could not have. If a young girl today wanted to play a sport, no big deal, where can she sign up? If a more seasoned woman wanted to play a sport growing up, ‘well let’s see here, sorry, we’re currently not offering any sports for women.’ The struggle to play sports for women is one that has taken a long time and is something that the women athletes of today don’t fully understand.

“I don’t think I know what Title IX is,” said Abby Bister, a 19-year-old University of Nebraska rugby player. “So I guess it doesn’t have an effect on me.”

Whereas, when asking a 53-year-old former athlete the same question.

“I participated in basketball, volleyball and track when I was in high school,” said Lora O’Hern, current vice principle of North Branch High School in North Branch, Minn. “Although I would have preferred to be an athlete today with the opportunities young women have, I am glad I at least had the sports opportunities I did have.”

When looking at the age gap between these two women, we see that one of them is glad to have had the opportunities to play, while the other doesn’t even know what those opportunities are. But here’s where we must all ask ourselves something. Is equality achieved when you no longer have to think about it? Is it bad that Bister doesn’t know what Title IX is? Is it wrong to view young women athletes who don’t know about the struggles that the women that came before them faced as negative? To the women who strived and pushed for Title IX, her remark would be a slap in the face to all of them who would have done anything to have had the opportunities that she had. But on the other hand, haven’t the dreams of the first women who wanted equality in sports been achieved?

“If it were not for Title IX, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I was able to play at a high school level and was offered college scholarships at both the DI and DII level,” said Megan O’Hern, former University of Minnesota-Duluth basketball player. “I chose a school that was closer to home and had many amazing opportunities both athletically and academically.” Women of the Title IX generation wanted equality in sports. Hasn’t that been achieved?

To some it has, but to Pamela J. Forman, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire, it has not.

“Title IX has had a very paradoxical effect on the growth of women’s sports. Because equality of opportunity was mandated, male athletic directors were forced to offer a share of the pie to women’s collegiate sports. As a result, Title IX spurred the NCAA takeover of an athletic association, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which was run by women primarily and for female athletes. The male model of sports then became the same model offered to women’s sports: a more commercialized model, which did and does not always favor the rights of the student athlete.

In the end, Title IX over thirty years has not created equality for girls and women’s sports. Women receive more opportunities to play, but there are about 70,000 fewer female college athletes than men at NCAA colleges and universities. Frankly, the women’s movement would have done as much to promote the growth of women’s sports as Title IX did. Over ninety percent of colleges and universities are out of compliance with Title IX. No college has ever lost federal funding as a result of the failure to follow its regulations. Thus, Title IX is a law without teeth. Poorly enforced. The media has promoted Title IX as the saving grace, but really, the women’s movement is to thank for these gains in girls and women’s sports participation, as well as a culture that is finally beginning to accept that females can be high quality athletes.”

Though efforts have been made in women’s sports, there is still a lot of work left to do to bring women’s rights in sports up to par with that of men's’.

So what can be done? History cannot be learned unless it’s taught and young women today don’t know about the history of women’s sports. They’ve grown up in a time where the right to play sports has been no different than a man’s right to play. Also, they’ve grown up in a time when women’s history in sports isn’t taught to them.

“I don’t think the younger generations have any idea. Equality in sports is not something that is taught in schools. I’ve learned a little bit about Title IX from a women’s studies class in college, but that is about it,” said Jenna France, twenty-four and a former manager for the UWEC women’s basketball team.

“Much of the information I have learned about Title IX has been through my own research. I can’t think of any classes in my secondary or collegiate education that touched on women’s sports and our subsequent inequality,” said Megan O’Hern.

“I think a lot of players don’t know this, but also wouldn’t seek it out. Do we know enough? Probably not, but who is going to tell us? We probably wouldn’t seek it out,” said Ellen Held, a twenty-year-old University of Nebraska Rugby player. To bridge the gap between the women who’ve fought for equality and the women who are en­joying that equality, the schools need to start teaching it.

But how fair are women’s sports today? Are women’s sports equal to men’s? In terms of popularity amongst the media, women’s sports are not equal. Will they ever be equal? We can only hope. There are still many differences between men and women’s sports. For example, in hockey women aren’t allowed to “check.” The dress code for male and female sports is also a little different. For example, in lacrosse, women have to wear skirts while the men can wear shorts.

Despite the lack of media exposure and the difference in rules and regulations, young women athletes today are not looking at that. They’re looking at the greatness of the sport they’re playing.

“How much fun it is to go out onto a court or field and have fun playing with my friends; working past biased referees and biased media exposure. Enjoying the now. Even despite that some of us may not know how we got here, we know that sports are about the future, achieving our goals and working as a unit,” said Bister.

Even though there is this gap in generational knowledge, there is a common middle ground that many women athletes agree on. Sports are about having fun, working as a team, playing by the rules and building memories that they’ll share with their teammates as well as their parents for years to come.

“I think of the joy organized sports have brought our family over the years with three daughters actively participating. We have fabulous family memories from high school and college sporting events,” said Lora O’Hern.

It’s not all about studying the efforts of the past, it’s about making memories and sharing experiences that all parties will take with them for years.

Though it is important to look back at the past, reflecting on great moments in both women’s and men’s sports, the future of women’s sports does not lie in their attempts to achieve equality. The future of women’s sports lies in breaking the stereotypes of women athletes.

“In rugby, people look at you and are like you play rugby? You are not strong enough for a sport like that. They assume that it is a man’s sport and that women should not play it,” said Cramer.

The future of women’s sports lies in young women today showing the men of this world that I am strong, I am able, and there is no way that you can tell me that I cannot play the sports that I love.

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