Title IX gone awry -"if no Girlse then no
Boise!"
Shame on the Pittsburgh Public Schools
| Title 9 was designed to give girls a chance to play sports
on an equal basis with boys. It was to balance the opportunities
available. But now its taking a terrible twist. In the
Pittsburgh City Schools, some schools were not fielding a girls team in
the K-5 league. The solution offered by the Pittsburgh city Schools:
If the girls don't want to play, the boys will be denied an opportunity
to play. This is the solution being advanced by
Superintendent Linda Lane. She said the new rule, which came from a
suggestion from a K-5 principal. This is after she met with an 11 year
old girl who wanted to play basketball at her school, but not enough girls
signed up so there is no team. The 11 year old girl told the
Superintendent, "she didn't think it was fair that the girls wouldn't have
an opportunity to play, but the boys' season would continue." |
Title IX is a 1972 federal law that "bans sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. When applied to athletics, schools must demonstrate one of three criteria: that the ratio of athletic opportunities for each sex is equal to that of the student population; that the school can show it has been expanding sports opportunities for females; that it fully accommodates the athletic interests and abilities of all students." Some info taken from a Dec 27 article by Taryn Luna, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, find the article in its entirety HERE Pittsburgh City Schools Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Patricia Gennari Board makeup, 5 women and four men The truth is that Title IX does not require
identical athletics programs for males and females. Rather, Title IX
requires that the athletics programs meet the interests and abilities of
each gender. This statement is taken from the NCAA website, "Title
IX Frequently Asked Questions." (#11.
Does Title IX require identical athletics programs for
males and females? ) Question #13. Does Title IX mandate that a decrease in opportunities for male athletes be made in order to provide an increase in opportunities for female athletes?
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| Pahoops says, if college football has a Boise State, why
don't they also have a Girlse State. Everyone knows that is a
ridiculous statement. It makes no sense. Well, this new
Pittsburgh City Schools policy is just as ridiculous and makes no sense!!
Using the logic of the Pittsburgh city Schools, the NCAA should be forced to
organize a Girlse State team, or Boise State should not be able to
participate.
Two years ago, the NCAA was urged to charge as much for tickets to the NCAA Women's Tournament as they charged for the Men's tournament. (article HERE) This demand was made by two women from the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College who argued that is was demeaning to the women to sell their tickets for less. The writers had no grasp on what people were willing to pay for tickets. The writers should try attending girl's basketball games in the many high schools who charge no admission for girl's games, but do charge for the boy's games. We suggest that Superintendent Linda Lane read the guidelines for Title IX and apply some common sense to the direction being taken by the Pittsburgh City School System. We are all for providing equal opportunities, but lets not deny participation to some who want to play just because some others do not care to play. Bill Gaffey for pahoops |