Title 9 Olympics? - Scott Blackburn the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee says "YES!"

I changed the SCAQ masthead to reflect the "pinking" of the Olympics. That is Rebecca Soni flying by. Note, she goes to USA. They make great doctors there.

Imagine that you are an amateur swimmer and you are so good that you set 18 world records during your career, won two gold medals in the 400 IM and 4x100 relay, but no college would grant you a scholarship?

Meet Donna DeVarona, the first female sports broadcaster and one of the inspirations in getting Title IX passed through congress. As a result, the 2012 Games are being called the Title IX Games.

From Wikipedia:
Defining Title 9: "... is a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, [...] No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance... 

Consequences: "... many contend that the current interpretation of Title IX by the [Office for civil rights OCR] has resulted in the dismantling of men's programs, despite strong participation in those sports. For example, though interest in the sport of wrestling has consistently increased at the high school level since 1990, scores of colleges have dropped their wrestling programs during that same period. The OCR's three-prong test for compliance with Title IX often is cited as the reason for these cuts. Wrestling historically was the most frequently dropped sport, but other men's sports later overtook the lead, such that according to the NCAA, the most-dropped men's sports between 1987 and 2002 were as follows: Cross country (183), indoor track (180), golf (178), tennis (171), rowing (132), outdoor track (126), swimming (125) and wrestling (121). 

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Scott Blackburn on the Title IX Olympics:

" ...said Title IX has played a significant role in the success of American teams at the Olympics. It gave U.S. women more opportunities in sports before other nations did the same, laying a foundation that has yielded a trove of Olympic medals...." 

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There are more women on the US Olympic team than men according to USA Today:

"...For Team USA this summer in London, it will be the Title IX Olympics. For the first time in U.S. Olympic history, there will be more female athletes competing than men. The 530-member team is comprised of 269 women and 261 men, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Tuesday.

"...It speaks to Title IX," Teresa Edwards, the U.S. Olympic team chef de mission and five-time medalist in basketball, told USA TODAY Sports. "It's evident where we've come from especially with women in sports. I'm very proud of that — not so proud that I want to make the men jealous because a lot of men play a role in where we are now — but I'm proud to know that we've come this far. ..."

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It's my belief that the products of Title IX with their competitive spirit and refined education will begin to break the "glass ceilings" and a few will start ther own businesses and compete at the entrepreneurial level rather than doing the wage slave thing. To inject my opinion further: I would prefer that women bypass the corporate world and go straight into a business of their own making.

But every solution creates a new problem...

The United states is a place where immediate profits determine success. Title IX has been a success for women but the way it has been implemented by the men in power at the college level has hurt young men in "lesser sports."

I have seen several editorials bemoaning the oppression of Title IX cuts to mens programs but the people writing these editorials always blamed the law rather than those implementing the law. The people in charge of cutting the least profitable sports programs are primarily men doing whatever it takes to ensure that football and basketball can still remain the athletic focal point. The top college football teams make an average of $83-million a year but they still want more. See Forbes Magazine: [Link]

I was told by two individuals that football is allowed 85 scholarships despite that only 11-players can take the field. Now, when you divide 11-into-85 that is nearly eight-teams worth of players. (I hear swimming only gets 9 scholarships). So, as a result of the inequity of Title IX implementation , women have flourished while male swimmers, runners, wrestlers, rowers have suffered.

To be more succinct,  the men running these non-profit colleges in a for profit way have cut the programs mentioned above and have blamed Title IX and/or "feminism" as the "assassins"of these programs so as to divide us and let a nameless group take the blame.

I congratulate all the girls on our US Olympic team and I hope these girls not only move on to even more meaningful stations in life but that they too encourage colleges and universities to keep the allocation fair and not be blamed when it is not.