By Kayan Brown
Athlete Pushes for Change
It’s the bottom of the sixth inning, both teams still scoreless, and the road team is up to bat. While one player takes practice swings in the warm-up circle, the opposition’s best hitter readies herself for the first pitch. The fourth pitch, a fastball straight down middle, flies off the end of the bat and heads for an unexpected crash landing. The shortstop prepares herself to make the catch, but at the last second she sees the ball heading down towards a rock in the infield.
Emily opens her eyes to a sharp pain in her finger and jaw. Unclear about what occurred; her coach and teammates share the story. The well-hit ball took a bad hop off a huge, unmovable rock in the infield and collided with her jaw. They made her sit on the bench, only to get a splinter in her finger from the board on cinder blocks that serve as their home team bench. After that play, the visiting team went on to win 1-0.
As part of our V is for Victory campaign, we received a story depicting some of the horrible conditions above. A girl wrote about her softball team and the hardships they face with the lack of financial and other support services. She outlined the numerous setbacks facing the team, such as the lights being moved to the baseball field, carpooling to the “home” field for practice and games because it is one mile away from the school, the bench that’s just a board on cinder blocks, makeshift bleachers, no scoreboard, the players raising money to buy themselves new uniforms, the weathering of the centimeter of dirt in the infield so it left only concrete and rocks, the whole team having ONE bat to use, and the softball field that is an old tennis court.
The story above may not have happened yet, but the description of this softball team’s field condition is real. The Foundation received this story and the immediate impact of the dire situations was apparent. As a senior, the girl knew nowhere else to turn to make the situation better for her teammates and the younger girls soon to play softball for the school. The Advocacy Department explained that Title IX stipulates that the school must provide equal funding, quality facilities and equipment for both the boys’ and girls’ programs. Therefore, having the girls pay for their own uniforms, providing unsuitable facilities and equipment comprises inequitable treatment under Title IX.
Grandmother "Cleans Up" Situation
It was their day for gym class. The second-grade girls hated gym class and could not understand why the boys liked it so much. They never had gym with the boys, so they could not imagine what they were doing to make it so much fun. The girls entered the gym already knowing what to expect. Brooms and dusting cloths were spread across the floor of the gymnasium. The gym instructor blew his whistle with a smile across his face. The girls slowly and irritably walked over to the cleaning equipment and got to work. Once gym class ended, the gym was clean and the gym teacher told them “next time, we will work on the storage closet.” The girls were sweaty and smelled like cleaning liquid, but they did not know what to do or where to turn.
“Grandma, is it okay that the girls clean the gym?” the little girl asked. The grandmother turns to her grandson, who attends the same school, and asked, “Do the boys clean the gym on your gym days?”
“No, Grandma, the gym teacher says that girls clean better than boys.”
Horrified by the information, the grandmother became overcome with sadness that her granddaughter has gone through such a horrible ordeal. She has made it her mission to teach her grandchildren the concept of equality between boys and girls and the way her grandson should treat women. All her work was put in jeopardy because of the awful actions of another adult entrusted to teach and shape young children through physical education.
This scenario may seem like a crazy scene from a movie, but unfortunately it represents a story the Foundation recently received. A physical education teacher made second-grade girls clean the gym and other places because he believes girls clean better. Not knowing where else to turn, the grandmother contacted the Foundation with questions about the legality of the situation. The Advocacy Department explained that a part of Title IX covers issues of course offerings, which include physical education. Therefore, under Title IX, a recipient shall not provide any course or otherwise carry out any of its education program or activity separately on the bases of sex. Thus, requiring that girls clean in gym class while boys get to play games constitutes discriminatory treatment under Title IX. The Foundation’s advocacy team is working with the grandmother to file a compliant with the administration.
Mother "Digs" for Solution to Verbal Abuse
A mother contacted the Foundation for advice on how to handle the verbal and emotional abuse that her daughter has been subjected to from her teammates and coach. This volleyball player is the only freshman on the varsity team, and according to her mother, she has been bullied, had rumors spread about her from her teammates and even took herself out of games because the language used against her was so offensive. On one occasion, her teammates yelled at her every time she touched the ball and even switched jerseys one night without informing her. Her coach has done nothing to stop this treatment, but instead enhances it by allowing it to continue and blaming this player for the abuse she receives, saying she is a slacker and it is her own fault. This mother has tried to talk with the athletic director and principal to no avail, and now the mother is no longer allowed to attend any more athletic events. The Advocacy Department recommended she try to circulate a petition for support within the community and talk to other parents and coaches to try and gather their support to bring the issue to the attention of the school board. We sent her
Addressing the Issue of Verbal, Physical and Psychological Abuse of Athletes: The Foundation Position and
Steps to Take to Get Gender Equity and provided her with an expert referral.
Girls Team Denied Participation in Annual Soccer Tournament
A parent contacted the Foundation for advice in dealing with a soccer association that is discriminating against girls. According to this parent, the association has a tournament for men and boys only, and only after much pressure from this parent, did it agree to allow a girl's team in the tournament. However, when the girls did compete, they were forced to play a boy's team and in non-prime time slots or locations than the other teams. To read more about this situation and see how you can join in this parent's struggle for equality, please visit their website.
Organization Refuses Female Athlete's Participation
A mother contacted the Foundation for assistance in combating the unfair practices in her daughter's ice hockey league. Her daughter decided to play on her brother's team at the beginning of the season. While the teams do not have tryouts, the coach made clear that since she was the 21st member of the team she would only serve as a substitute. After the first game, the local hockey association contacted her parents and told them that an evaluation was necessary for their daughter to continue to be on the team, despite the fact that the league does not require evaluations for its male members. After the evaluation, the association determined that she could remain on the team; however, the coach said she was no longer allowed to play. The Advocacy Department explained that public accommodation laws typically prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in public athletic leagues. We sent her
Playing Fair;
A Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity; and
Common Questions about Gender Equity in Non-School Recreational Sports, a resource that explains gender equity issues for community recreational athletics, and encouraged her to file a complaint and work within the political channels of the league to resolve the dispute.
Women Denied Coaching Access
A mother contacted the Foundation regarding issues of discrimination against her daughter's high school. While there are three coaches for the boys' soccer team, her daughter's 40-person soccer team only has one. Furthermore, the school does not provide a trainer for the girls' team like it does for the boys. The Advocacy Department advised the mother that Title IX requires schools to provide comparable coach-to-athlete ratios for its male and female athletes as well as comparable training and other benefits. We sent her
Playing Fair, a resource that explains Title IX rules and regulations to help athletes, coaches, parents and others better analyze their school's athletic programs; and
A Step by Step Guide to Getting Gender Equity, a resource that gives activists a detailed, step-by-step plan for achieving gender equity; and we encouraged the parent to work through the political channels in the school to pursue a Title IX complaint.
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