J
JDenz
Guest
And then there is the part that the 'gender equity' feminists really don't want you to know about.
It is not just any women who have been gaining at the expense of just any men in college athletics as a result of the 'proportionality' prong used by the U.S. government as a measure of enforcement for Title IX. While these feminists try to cloak their campaign in the rhetoric of civil rights, the facts that are emerging indicate that the key beneficiaries of proportionality have been well-off white women, while the key people losing out have been Black and Latino males.
This has been written about by Bobby Douglas, currently the head wrestling coach at Iowa State, who guided Cael Sanderson through his unprecedented four undefeated seasons. In 1964, Douglas was the first African-American wrestler on a U.S. Olympic team. In 1988, while at Arizona State, he was the first African-American coach to head an NCAA Div. I championship wrestling team. And in 1992 he was the first African-American coach of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. He was profiled in Sports Illustrated in 1992, is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and is respected by everyone in wrestling. He will also be head coach of the U.S. freestyle team at the upcoming 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships.
Last year Douglas wrote an opinion piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called 'TITLE IX - Minority athletes lose in quest for 'equity.'' He wrote, in part, 'Educators know that college athletics provide one crucial gateway for minority students, especially ones from impoverished communities to reach for higher education. Among collegiate baseball players, for example, approximately one in 10 is a minority. In soccer it's one in eight and in track it's one in four. When athletic directors apply the cruel logic of the gender quota to cut those teams, it is the minority athletes who are hurt the most.'
He continued, 'It saddens me enormously that the chances are ever-decreasing that a determined African-American or Latino boy from the projects will be able to use a sport such as wrestling to elevate himself and return to his community to help lift others.'
And he concluded, 'When college coaches are forced to eliminate men's wrestling, track and baseball teams or ordered to shrink the number of athletes on their teams for gender quota purposes, that is a tragic loss. Far more than high-profile sports such as basketball and football, these so-called 'minor' sports offer minority kids a realistic alternative to the gangs, drugs, and other problems that plague our communities.'
Douglas was not alone in these sentiments.
In July 2002, reporter Bob Young of the Arizona Republic wrote an article entitled âTitle IX: Women's benefits come at expense of minorities, men.â Young studied the effect of Title IX enforcement on many Black and Latino student-athletes. He wrote, âThirty years later, opponents of the way Title IX has been enforced suggest that in balancing one scale, others have been set askew. College sports dominated by White athletes, such as rowing, field hockey, lacrosse, equestrian and synchronized swimming, have been added for women. Meanwhile, some of the so-called âminorâ men's sports that have been reduced by Title IX enforcement, such as wrestling, men's gymnastics, and most recently track and field, are sports that historically have provided opportunities for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and Native Americans.â Young mentioned how this has led to the loss of opportunity for Latino wrestlers, especially in the Southwest U.S.
Young also examined the elimination of menâs track and field at Bowling Green University. He wrote, âSterling Martin, the only African-American head coach at Bowling Green, lost his job as track coach. He thinks college administrators are now sacrificing minority opportunity in the name of gender equity. He finds it ironic that it is the Office of Civil Rights - which investigates claims of discrimination based on race or disability - that is responsible for enforcing Title IX. âI've been screaming about this for a long time, and nobody listened,â Martin said.â
In other words, to a large degree, the 'gender equity' feminists have hijacked Title IX. This was supposed to be a civil rights bill, but they have refashioned it into something that predominantly benefits wealthy white women at the expense of men from lower income and disadvantaged groups.
Both the Democratic Clinton Administration and the Republican Bush Administration have been on the same page regarding this denial of civil rights. Draw your own conclusions from that fact.
And it has been the wrestling community that has been in the vanguard of what really is a new civil rights struggle. One pioneer was Dale Anderson, two-time NCAA champion at Michigan State and now an attorney. He wrote a series of articles over several years in W.I.N. that exposed the fallacies behind this proportionality scheme, and lambasted those in wrestling who sat by silently while program after program was shut down. And, of course, Leo Kocher not only hammered home pretty much the same message in the pages of W.I.N., but also is part of the latest efforts of the College Sports Council (CSC).
All of this leads back to the renewed legal efforts of CSC. On last Friday's teleconference call, CSC lead attorney Larry Joseph explained his perspective on CSC's next steps by pointing out that 'I come at this from the lawyer's perspective.' But what he outlined goes far beyond mere legal maneuverings.
'We saw what was happening,' said Joseph. 'We filed this petition that they repeal it. And as a result of their decision not to do anything, that gives us the standing that the District Court lack. So in a sense we were ready for this outcome, even though as Eric [Pearson] said, as a coalition we tried to convince the Administration and the commission that this really needs to be fixed. And we succeeded at least with the commission. We were also ready on the legal front for them to say 'no.' And so as a result we will get our day in court.'
So it is back to the courts, back to the media, back to the battle for public opinion. The powers that be may be lined up against all these forces, but they may have forgotten one very important thing: Think twice before you pick a fight with a bunch of wrestlers.
The web site of the College Sports Council is at:
http://www.savingsports.org
It is not just any women who have been gaining at the expense of just any men in college athletics as a result of the 'proportionality' prong used by the U.S. government as a measure of enforcement for Title IX. While these feminists try to cloak their campaign in the rhetoric of civil rights, the facts that are emerging indicate that the key beneficiaries of proportionality have been well-off white women, while the key people losing out have been Black and Latino males.
This has been written about by Bobby Douglas, currently the head wrestling coach at Iowa State, who guided Cael Sanderson through his unprecedented four undefeated seasons. In 1964, Douglas was the first African-American wrestler on a U.S. Olympic team. In 1988, while at Arizona State, he was the first African-American coach to head an NCAA Div. I championship wrestling team. And in 1992 he was the first African-American coach of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. He was profiled in Sports Illustrated in 1992, is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and is respected by everyone in wrestling. He will also be head coach of the U.S. freestyle team at the upcoming 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships.
Last year Douglas wrote an opinion piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called 'TITLE IX - Minority athletes lose in quest for 'equity.'' He wrote, in part, 'Educators know that college athletics provide one crucial gateway for minority students, especially ones from impoverished communities to reach for higher education. Among collegiate baseball players, for example, approximately one in 10 is a minority. In soccer it's one in eight and in track it's one in four. When athletic directors apply the cruel logic of the gender quota to cut those teams, it is the minority athletes who are hurt the most.'
He continued, 'It saddens me enormously that the chances are ever-decreasing that a determined African-American or Latino boy from the projects will be able to use a sport such as wrestling to elevate himself and return to his community to help lift others.'
And he concluded, 'When college coaches are forced to eliminate men's wrestling, track and baseball teams or ordered to shrink the number of athletes on their teams for gender quota purposes, that is a tragic loss. Far more than high-profile sports such as basketball and football, these so-called 'minor' sports offer minority kids a realistic alternative to the gangs, drugs, and other problems that plague our communities.'
Douglas was not alone in these sentiments.
In July 2002, reporter Bob Young of the Arizona Republic wrote an article entitled âTitle IX: Women's benefits come at expense of minorities, men.â Young studied the effect of Title IX enforcement on many Black and Latino student-athletes. He wrote, âThirty years later, opponents of the way Title IX has been enforced suggest that in balancing one scale, others have been set askew. College sports dominated by White athletes, such as rowing, field hockey, lacrosse, equestrian and synchronized swimming, have been added for women. Meanwhile, some of the so-called âminorâ men's sports that have been reduced by Title IX enforcement, such as wrestling, men's gymnastics, and most recently track and field, are sports that historically have provided opportunities for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and Native Americans.â Young mentioned how this has led to the loss of opportunity for Latino wrestlers, especially in the Southwest U.S.
Young also examined the elimination of menâs track and field at Bowling Green University. He wrote, âSterling Martin, the only African-American head coach at Bowling Green, lost his job as track coach. He thinks college administrators are now sacrificing minority opportunity in the name of gender equity. He finds it ironic that it is the Office of Civil Rights - which investigates claims of discrimination based on race or disability - that is responsible for enforcing Title IX. âI've been screaming about this for a long time, and nobody listened,â Martin said.â
In other words, to a large degree, the 'gender equity' feminists have hijacked Title IX. This was supposed to be a civil rights bill, but they have refashioned it into something that predominantly benefits wealthy white women at the expense of men from lower income and disadvantaged groups.
Both the Democratic Clinton Administration and the Republican Bush Administration have been on the same page regarding this denial of civil rights. Draw your own conclusions from that fact.
And it has been the wrestling community that has been in the vanguard of what really is a new civil rights struggle. One pioneer was Dale Anderson, two-time NCAA champion at Michigan State and now an attorney. He wrote a series of articles over several years in W.I.N. that exposed the fallacies behind this proportionality scheme, and lambasted those in wrestling who sat by silently while program after program was shut down. And, of course, Leo Kocher not only hammered home pretty much the same message in the pages of W.I.N., but also is part of the latest efforts of the College Sports Council (CSC).
All of this leads back to the renewed legal efforts of CSC. On last Friday's teleconference call, CSC lead attorney Larry Joseph explained his perspective on CSC's next steps by pointing out that 'I come at this from the lawyer's perspective.' But what he outlined goes far beyond mere legal maneuverings.
'We saw what was happening,' said Joseph. 'We filed this petition that they repeal it. And as a result of their decision not to do anything, that gives us the standing that the District Court lack. So in a sense we were ready for this outcome, even though as Eric [Pearson] said, as a coalition we tried to convince the Administration and the commission that this really needs to be fixed. And we succeeded at least with the commission. We were also ready on the legal front for them to say 'no.' And so as a result we will get our day in court.'
So it is back to the courts, back to the media, back to the battle for public opinion. The powers that be may be lined up against all these forces, but they may have forgotten one very important thing: Think twice before you pick a fight with a bunch of wrestlers.
The web site of the College Sports Council is at:
http://www.savingsports.org