Can a coach file a Title IX complaint on behalf of student athletes?
Some coaches feel uncomfortable about filing a Title IX complaint and are afraid of losing their jobs. Yet coaches are more likely to know the detail and extent of any discrimination that is occurring than athletes or parents. There are regulations aimed at preventing retribution or harassment. So a school can't fire a coach just because they filed a complaint. If a coach is uncomfortable about filing, complaints can be made confidentially to serve as protection from retribution. Furthermore, anyone can file a complaint. Therefore, a coach can get alumni, a representative from a women's group, or even several individuals or groups to file the complaint.
There is a women's team at our school that has existed as a club for five years. There is a men's varsity team for the same sport but the athletic director says there is not enough money to turn the women's club team into a varsity team. Is this a violation of Title IX? Lack of money is not a valid excuse for discrimination. As explained earlier, an athletic program must effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of its female students. In this particular instance, the Title IX complaint would be legitimate under the following conditions: lack of substantial proportionality between the percentage of female students and female athletes at the school; a demand for the club team to turn varsity; adequate competition in the area; and women are not likely to make a coed team in the sport. The last condition would not be necessary in the case of a contact sport.
Sometimes the women's club sport is not the same as the men's varsity sport, as is the case with softball and baseball. In this situation, look at the "Student Interests and Abilities" section and determine the school's overall compliance in that area. If they are not in compliance with that section, the school may elevate a particular women's club team to varsity status to increase opportunities for females and achieve compliance.
My daughter plays high school basketball. At the end of the season she receives a letter certificate, as do all the girls' teams. Meanwhile, the boys' basketball team receives letter jackets as a gift from the booster club, as do the boys' football and baseball teams. Is this a Title IX violation? The answer is yes, such an act is a violation of Title IX according to the OCR. Because the athletic department allowed the booster club to raise money for the boys' jackets, this act falls under the component of "Provision of Equipment and Supplies." If permission is given by the Athletic Director for an act that benefits the boys' program, a similar benefit must be provided to the girls' program.
Is it a violation of Title IX when cheerleaders, pep squads, and/or bands are provided for men's athletic events but not for women's athletic events? Yes, it is a violation. Cheerleaders, bands, and pep squads, etc., are considered publicity services. If they are provided for the men's program, they must also be provided for the women's.
We have repeatedly asked for the addition of a women's soccer team and have plenty of women lined up to play. We have seven men's teams, including football, and six women's teams. The athletic director says that football is a special case, and that there are equal numbers of teams and athletes for men and women when you leave it out. Can you leave out football when considering Title IX?
No. Football is part of the athletic program and cannot be considered separately. It must be included in all analyses of Title IX compliance. So your athletic director must include the numbers of athletes on the football team when examining the school's sports offerings to males and to females.
Our high school's basketball games are scheduled so that the girls' varsity plays at 4:00 p.m., the boys' JV when that game is completed and the boys' varsity plays last. Is that a Title IX violation? Absolutely. Parents and friends have a more difficult time attending earlier games so the later times for games are more valued. If boys' teams are always scheduled for more valued times than the girls' teams, that is a significant difference.
Our college just built a brand new gym with fancy locker rooms for the men's basketball and football teams. All of the women's teams practice and play their games in the old gym, which has small, poorly furnished locker rooms that are shared by all the teams. Is this a violation of Title IX? Yes, it is. The school has to provide equivalent facilities for the men's program and the women's program. In this case, all the men's teams use a superior facility while all the women's teams use an inferior facility.
I just found out that our college spends 80 percent of its budget on men's sports. Is this a violation of Title IX? Maybe. How much of the budget goes to men's sports versus women's sports doesn't answer the question by itself. What's important is what that money buys. If the lower budget forces the women's program to offer less in the way of benefits and services, then it's a problem. The additional money for the men's program might be necessary depending on the exact needs of the specific sports offerings. The men's basketball team may sell out the arena every game: the costs of a ticket office and staff may then be attributed to the men's budget. A large discrepancy between the budgets should, however, be examined carefully to determine the reasons and whether or not they are discriminatory.