How Title XI was born:
The law was first created in the 1970’s, a time when a woman would most likely be denied the chance to attend either law or medical school due to her gender. In 1972, congress decided that a change needed to come, and thus created Title XI. The Education and Amendment Act stopped any type of discrimination on the basis of gender alone when it regarded educational institutions. This meant that women were finally able to follow their dreams with no restrictions. However, the law did not just apply to college. The law was also applied to elementary, middle, and high schools across the country.
Furthermore, the law did not just stop at only the education portion of schools. The law also stretched over to help in departments such as athletics. It was a simple rule that the law had set in place: Female athletes should and would be treated equally compared to their male counterparts.
Now, here it is the important part. The law required for schools to have equal opportunities for all sexes when it comes to sports. The percentage of females and males in a athletic program needed to match with the school’s student body. Meaning that there were no excuses for schools to have a low number on either the female or male sporting teams. The only exceptions that schools could provide for not having female counterparts for their male leagues are as follows.
- The school is still trying to add more chances for girls to play.
- The school has already given girls that chance to play, but they did not want to.
The law also helped when it came to small issues that could have been overlooked. Females would be given equipment and uniforms. They had to be given equal access to a training room, as well. Women even were allowed to have cheerleaders for their sporting events, too!
One of the most important key factors for the law was money. Under the law, if a school accepts money for financial support for their sports, then that money belonged to the school. The money was supposed to be used for both the boys' and girls' programs. If the schools was found to only be funding one then they could get into trouble. Although, if the school really had such a strict code against female sports team that does not mean that girls cannot play.
Truth is, girls can go and try out for the boys team. Yes, you read that right. If not given the equal chance at their own team, the girls are allowed to go and try out for the male team. However, the law cannot stop coaches from saying no to the girls playing for reasons such as size and strength. Those principles are thought as fair for they also apply to the males that have gone to try out for the sports team, too.
It is thanks to laws such as Title XI that female and male athletes are given the same kind of treatment that is obviously deserved. It is also important for people to know about such laws so they can prevent wrong treatment against them so the school systems can fix this issue.
