Published: June 11, 2003
STATEMENT TO THE PRESS: Title IX Decision
June 11, 2003
Women's Sports Foundation
On June 11, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the lawsuit, National Wrestling Coaches Association v. United States Department of Education.
The Wrestling Coaches Association maintained that Title IX was the cause of cuts to men's teams and that the three-part test for participation compliance created a quota system.
The court's decision made it clear that Title IX cannot be blamed for cuts to men's teams because educational institutions make decisions based on multiple unrelated factors. The court also recognized the importance of Title IX, characterizing it as a "landmark" civil rights statute with implementing policies and significant flexibility built into the Department of Education's enforcement considerations, thus negating the allegation of "quotas". The court specifically stated that every federal appellate court that has considered the issue has upheld the Title IX policies.
Dawn Riley, President of the Women's Sports Foundation stated, "This is absolutely the right decision. It reflects the intent of the law, that the public wants our sons and daughters to be treated fairly and equitably and allows everyone to focus on moving forward to achieve the promise of Title IX. The Women's Sports Foundation applauds the court's decision."
Specifically, the court stated that the wrestlers failed to show that Title IX was the cause of men's teams being dropped and that even if Title IX were altered, these teams would not be reinstated. The court stated that Title IX's policies provide schools with flexibility to decide how to structure their athletics programs, and that many factors go into these decisions, in addition to equal opportunity principles.
The court also noted that Title IX was enacted to remedy discrimination against women and girls and that it is a "landmark" civil rights statute. Girls still receive 1.1 million fewer high school and 58,000 fewer college athletic participation opportunities and more than $133 million less in college athletic scholarships.
The National Women's Law Center wrote the amicus brief to which the Women's Sports Foundation signed on. The National Wrestling Coaches Association has 60 days to appeal to the D.C. Circuit. However, for the moment, this decision removes any external rationale (i.e., avoidance of a lawsuit) for the Secretary of Education to take action to alter the Title IX compliance guidelines. The Foundation, along with other members of the Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, calls upon the Secretary to vigorously enforce Title IX and cease efforts to weaken the compliance policies and guidelines.
The link to the decision is: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/02-72.pdf.
Questions: Eloise Longobardi at 516-542-4700