Though it鈥檚 been 40 long years since Title IX was passed, discouraging stories continue to pop up all around the country that show that many people just don鈥檛 want to implement this groundbreaking law. In 2009, Quinnipiac University in Connecticut decided to cut funding for their Women鈥檚 Volleyball team. This put them in direct violation of Title IX, a federal law that requires educational institutions to provide equal opportunities to participate in activities, including sports, for female and male students, and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Connecticut sued on behalf of the former coach and women鈥檚 volleyball players. But Quinnipiac claimed they weren鈥檛 restricting opportunities to women athletes. They claimed compliance with Title IX by triple-counting female cross country runners 鈥 who were also on the rosters of track and field teams 鈥 even if they didn鈥檛 actually compete. And to top it off, they claimed to have replaced volleyball with a suitable alternative: they installed a competitive cheerleading team in its place.
Don鈥檛 get me wrong. Competitive cheerleading requires great feats of strength, endurance and flexibility that would make any human being reasonably envious of a competitive cheerleader鈥檚 athleticism. But a sport, under Title IX, must have a clearly defined season, regulations for coaches and athletes, and a governing body that makes sure that everyone is following the rules. Competitive cheerleading doesn鈥檛 qualify. It鈥檚 just not right to assume that volleyball, a highly regulated sport that is respected enough to make it into this summer鈥檚 Olympics (good luck to Team USA, playing Brazil for gold tomorrow!), can be adequately replaced by competitive cheerleading.
So in 2010, Judge Stefan Underhill ruled that and prevented the university from eliminating any women鈥檚 athletic teams. Not willing to understand that cutting women鈥檚 volleyball was a violation of students鈥 rights, Quinnipiac appealed the decision. On Tuesday, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Underhill鈥檚 decision. This is a fantastic victory for everyone because it ensures that student athletes have equal access to venues in which they can show off their bumps, sets and spikes.
Until competitive cheerleading develops the qualifications needed to become a sport under Title IX, it just isn鈥檛 right to equate women鈥檚 volleyball with competitive cheerleading. Maybe one day, we can see competitive cheerleading develop into a regulated activity. But until then, Quinnipiac should continue to respect the provisions of Title IX. Hopefully, officials at Quinnipiac will begin to see the women鈥檚 volleyball team in the light I do 鈥 as athletes deserving of funding and praise.
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