This week the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the Indiana high school scheduling case. The original lawsuit, filed in 2009 by a former girls' basketball coach charged that boys' basketball in the district got favorable treatment in the scheduling of games. (Other posts about this case can be found by clicking on the Indiana tag.]
No word on when a decision will be made.
We will make sure to note any further news out of Chicago this week.
Senin, 30 Mei 2011
Minggu, 29 Mei 2011
Plan to Increase Scholarships Raises Questions About Title IX
As the NCAA considers a proposal by the Big Ten Conference to allow its member schools to increase athletes' scholarships to include living expenses, I am glad to read (here, in Sports Illustrated) that Title IX considerations are part of the discussion.
Currently, NCAA rules limit scholarships to tuition, fees, room & board, and books. This proposal would allow (but not require) schools to also provide assistance for transportation, food, laundry, entertainment and incidentals. The proposal is aimed to better compensate a student-athlete, who must go into his own pocket for the opportunity to participate in athletics. When you factor in that the university may generate revenue from this student's performance and that the student may be of limited means and lack the opportunity to hold a job due to time constraints of athletics, living expenses seem like a reasonable way to mitigate charges of exploitation. Moreover, given the reality that big-time college athletic programs are not know for high graduation rates, it can hardly be said that these athletes are adequately compensation by receiving a "free" degree. On the other hand, raising student-athlete scholarship amounts to cover living expenses would just contribute to the arms race mentality in college sports. If one school does it, its competitors would have to follow suit or suffer a disadvantage in recruiting. As a result, more collective money would get funneled into the revenue-generating (but not necessarily "profitable") sports of men's football and basketball, to the exclusion of other men's and women's sports.
Title IX would at least come in to play to provide equity to women's sports. Title IX regulations require schools to provide scholarship dollars in proportion to athletic participation. So increasing scholarships for certain men's sports would require a commensurate increase in women's scholarship dollars as well. Universities could comply by either increasing the number of scholarships or their amounts. Schools that already award the maximum number of scholarships in women's sports allowed by the NCAA would probably have to tack on living expenses awards to some female athletes' scholarships, if they wanted to be compliant. That's a big if, though. Women already receive less in athletic scholarships than men -- a $166 million disparity, according to the most recent figures from the Women's Sports Foundation. See also, here. It seems to me equally likely, if not more so, that this proposal would just widen the gap between male and female athletes rather than produce a collateral benefit to women.
Currently, NCAA rules limit scholarships to tuition, fees, room & board, and books. This proposal would allow (but not require) schools to also provide assistance for transportation, food, laundry, entertainment and incidentals. The proposal is aimed to better compensate a student-athlete, who must go into his own pocket for the opportunity to participate in athletics. When you factor in that the university may generate revenue from this student's performance and that the student may be of limited means and lack the opportunity to hold a job due to time constraints of athletics, living expenses seem like a reasonable way to mitigate charges of exploitation. Moreover, given the reality that big-time college athletic programs are not know for high graduation rates, it can hardly be said that these athletes are adequately compensation by receiving a "free" degree. On the other hand, raising student-athlete scholarship amounts to cover living expenses would just contribute to the arms race mentality in college sports. If one school does it, its competitors would have to follow suit or suffer a disadvantage in recruiting. As a result, more collective money would get funneled into the revenue-generating (but not necessarily "profitable") sports of men's football and basketball, to the exclusion of other men's and women's sports.
Title IX would at least come in to play to provide equity to women's sports. Title IX regulations require schools to provide scholarship dollars in proportion to athletic participation. So increasing scholarships for certain men's sports would require a commensurate increase in women's scholarship dollars as well. Universities could comply by either increasing the number of scholarships or their amounts. Schools that already award the maximum number of scholarships in women's sports allowed by the NCAA would probably have to tack on living expenses awards to some female athletes' scholarships, if they wanted to be compliant. That's a big if, though. Women already receive less in athletic scholarships than men -- a $166 million disparity, according to the most recent figures from the Women's Sports Foundation. See also, here. It seems to me equally likely, if not more so, that this proposal would just widen the gap between male and female athletes rather than produce a collateral benefit to women.
Kamis, 26 Mei 2011
Complaint targets Boiling Springs HS
I'm not blogging about the recently filed OCR complaint targetting Boiling Springs High School in South Carolina because I think the story is especially unusual or raises any new issues.
It's just an example of both good coverage of the issue (for the most part) and a good complaint.
Mike Tutterow, who has two girls at Boiling Springs (why didn't my high school have such a cool name??), filed the complaint after attempting to work out some of the issues (for several years) he saw within the athletic department. Note that anyone can file an OCR complaint. One does not have to be affiliated, in any way, with the school.
But Tutterow witnessed many discrepancies including: the quality and rate of replacement of boys' and girls' soccer uniforms; girls' coaches who had to launder their own team's uniforms; access to strength training; and differences in facilities (specifically the softball and baseball complexes).
It's not just treatment of athletes, however, it's about participation as well.
Girls are 47 percent of the schools 1600-person student body. They have only 30 percent of the athletic opportunities.
OCR visited Boiling Springs last week for two days.
The school superintendent, though, believes the school is in compliance and thinks OCR will find the complaint "unfounded." Based on what I have read, this seems unlikely. But the superintendent did say the district would make whatever changes recommended by OCR should the complaint indeed be founded.
It's just an example of both good coverage of the issue (for the most part) and a good complaint.
Mike Tutterow, who has two girls at Boiling Springs (why didn't my high school have such a cool name??), filed the complaint after attempting to work out some of the issues (for several years) he saw within the athletic department. Note that anyone can file an OCR complaint. One does not have to be affiliated, in any way, with the school.
But Tutterow witnessed many discrepancies including: the quality and rate of replacement of boys' and girls' soccer uniforms; girls' coaches who had to launder their own team's uniforms; access to strength training; and differences in facilities (specifically the softball and baseball complexes).
It's not just treatment of athletes, however, it's about participation as well.
Girls are 47 percent of the schools 1600-person student body. They have only 30 percent of the athletic opportunities.
OCR visited Boiling Springs last week for two days.
The school superintendent, though, believes the school is in compliance and thinks OCR will find the complaint "unfounded." Based on what I have read, this seems unlikely. But the superintendent did say the district would make whatever changes recommended by OCR should the complaint indeed be founded.
Rabu, 25 Mei 2011
Michigan adding lacrosse
Lest we think that all schools are in financial crises and being forced to cut sports...
University of Michigan has announced that it will be adding men's and women's lacrosse to its list of intercollegiate sports. Both teams are currently club sports at the school. Interestingly the men will be upgraded next year and the women will achieve varsity status in 2012. Not sure what the reasons are behind this timetable. Perhaps it has something to do with facilities. Still, I have not seen any explanation of why the men before the women. (And I would expect, if the plan were reversed, to be informed as to why.)
Michigan is planning on adding, but does not currently have, a dedicated lacrosse facility.
The school is banking on data that reveal lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.
Michigan is currently complying with the accommodations of interest and abilities by adhering to prong one. Women comprise just under half of the undergraduate student body (49 percent) and receive roughly 47 percent of the athletic opportunities. I assume the size of the respective teams will be about equal and thus the numbers will not change much.
University of Michigan has announced that it will be adding men's and women's lacrosse to its list of intercollegiate sports. Both teams are currently club sports at the school. Interestingly the men will be upgraded next year and the women will achieve varsity status in 2012. Not sure what the reasons are behind this timetable. Perhaps it has something to do with facilities. Still, I have not seen any explanation of why the men before the women. (And I would expect, if the plan were reversed, to be informed as to why.)
Michigan is planning on adding, but does not currently have, a dedicated lacrosse facility.
The school is banking on data that reveal lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.
Michigan is currently complying with the accommodations of interest and abilities by adhering to prong one. Women comprise just under half of the undergraduate student body (49 percent) and receive roughly 47 percent of the athletic opportunities. I assume the size of the respective teams will be about equal and thus the numbers will not change much.
Senin, 23 Mei 2011
Competitive Cheer Efforts Profiled in NYT
Today's New York Times includes an article on the competing proposals to the NCAA to recognize some version of competitive cheer as an emerging sport for women. One was submitted by a consortium of six universities already sponsoring varsity-level cheer, which they call "Acrobatics and Tumbling," while the other, called "Stunt" has been put forth by USA Cheer, an organization that has affiliation and common leadership with Varsity Brands Inc., the company that runs well-known competitions primarily for sideline cheer squads. According to the article,
On the issue of competitive cheer's relationship to Title IX, reporter Katie Thomas admirably conveyed the position of mainstream women's sports advocates, which is that as long as competitive cheer is truly operating as a sport, with the same level of support, the same opportunities for varsity-level competition as any other sport, it ought to be considered a sport. This position is too nuanced for many reporters who seem to delight in setting up women's sports advocates the nemeses of competitive cheer, so I was pleased that this article conveyed a difference between being against competitive cheer, and being against/concerned about athletic departments using competitive cheer to avoid having to address existing disparities in traditional sports.
The article also addressed the potential Title IX implications of the NCAA's potential decision to award one or the other versions of competitive cheer emerging sport status. Athletic department administrators will now have another possibility to choose from in adding sports for women and to promote their institution's Title IX compliance by either satiating unmet interests and abilities or closing the disparity between athletic opportunities for men and women.The two proposals being considered by the N.C.A.A. share many similarities: the competitions themselves are longer and more standardized than in the past, athletes now wear uniforms more akin to those of volleyball players, and they no longer rally the crowd for another team.
However, they differ in other ways, like how to score the events and how many competitions to stage in any given season. The proposal being advanced by the handful of universities calls the new sport acrobatics and tumbling and uses a scoring system similar to that of gymnastics, with points based on degree of difficulty. The format backed by USA Cheer is called stunt and has a head-to-head format, with the competition divided into quarters.
One important distinction is the size of the teams. The proposal for acrobatics and tumbling, which was submitted to the N.C.A.A. late last year, imagines that an average squad size will number from 32 to 36 athletes, with a maximum of 12 scholarships. The proposal for stunt, which was sent in on Wednesday, envisions a squad of 20 to 30, with a maximum of 24 scholarships.
On the issue of competitive cheer's relationship to Title IX, reporter Katie Thomas admirably conveyed the position of mainstream women's sports advocates, which is that as long as competitive cheer is truly operating as a sport, with the same level of support, the same opportunities for varsity-level competition as any other sport, it ought to be considered a sport. This position is too nuanced for many reporters who seem to delight in setting up women's sports advocates the nemeses of competitive cheer, so I was pleased that this article conveyed a difference between being against competitive cheer, and being against/concerned about athletic departments using competitive cheer to avoid having to address existing disparities in traditional sports.
Sabtu, 21 Mei 2011
Montana Adds Softball
A while ago, we mentioned University of Montana's plans to add women's softball. By way of update, here it's reported that the Regents have approved a plan to raise the student athletic fee (by $12.50 per year) thereby confirming the funding source for Montana's softball initiative. Student government also approved the fee increase, though leaders expressed reservation that the money be earmarked for Title IX compliance.
Adding softball was the right thing to do. Women make up 51.7% of the undergraduate population at Montana, but receive only 42.7% of the athletic opportunities, in a total of 6 sports. By my calculation, Montana would have to add 76 athletic opportunities for women to achieve proportionality. Softball is a start. It certainly improving their chances of demonstrating compliance with prong 3 in the meanwhile, as the decision satisfies to demonstrated unmet interested and ability.
Adding softball was the right thing to do. Women make up 51.7% of the undergraduate population at Montana, but receive only 42.7% of the athletic opportunities, in a total of 6 sports. By my calculation, Montana would have to add 76 athletic opportunities for women to achieve proportionality. Softball is a start. It certainly improving their chances of demonstrating compliance with prong 3 in the meanwhile, as the decision satisfies to demonstrated unmet interested and ability.
Jumat, 20 Mei 2011
Mind is blown. Elephant painting a picture of an elephant.
Watch this elephant paint a beautiful image of an elephant holding a flower. You'll be amazed at how her talent unfolds as she carefully completes each stroke. Her mahout talks to her throughout the process as his gentle touch gives her confidence. She focuses on her work and seems to enjoy the approval of the audience and, of course, the sugar cane and banana treats. All of her training has been reward based.
So touched by their horrific backgrounds and loving personalities, ExoticWorldGifts.com now supports, "Starving Elephant Artisans" by selling their paintings so they can continue to have a new life in Thailand. Own a print of the art for $15.
Some Thai elephant experts believe that the survival of the Asian elephant species will most likely depend on the good treatment of the elephants in well managed privately owned elephant camps. All of us would prefer that all of the elephants be free to be in the wild. For many reasons, that is not possible at this time.
Rabu, 18 Mei 2011
Alleged abuses by Florida high school soccer coaches
When I started reading this story about alleged abuses perpetuated by three coaches of a girls' soccer team in Florida, I thought it was an Onion-like piece. Then I realized that in Florida it is not so unusual, perhaps, to have a high school named Citrus High School. But the allegations agains these coaches certainly seem so over the top that I wondered still.
But the complaint is legitimate. (As in the complaint has been filed, not that the allegations have been proven true at this point.) But the details are a little confusing. Here is what I have garnered thus far:
1. Some parents and players were concerned over the behavior of three male coaches who worked with the girls' JV soccer team at Citrus High School. This behavior included one coach who liked to watch the girls shower and who pulled down the pants of a varsity player, and another coach who made comments about his genitalia as well as that of his players.
2. Said parents and students made a complaint to the coaching staff and the District School Board of Citrus County. The district suspended without pay the coach who made the inappropriate comments during its investigation. They also reprimanded him.
3. After the invesitgation was complete, the girls who had complained feel they were retaliated against. They say they were made to feel unwelcome. Their families were threatened with lawsuits by the coaches' lawyers. And they allege the coaches asked the district to expel two of them because they allegedly live outside the Citrus County School District.
4. This has led to the current lawsuit against the district school board. The family is asking for an injunction (against the expulsion I would assume) and costs and damages for Title IX violations.
I suspect some of the details got muddled in the reporting of this story and in my re-reporting of it. As we find out more, we will certainly add/correct.
But the complaint is legitimate. (As in the complaint has been filed, not that the allegations have been proven true at this point.) But the details are a little confusing. Here is what I have garnered thus far:
1. Some parents and players were concerned over the behavior of three male coaches who worked with the girls' JV soccer team at Citrus High School. This behavior included one coach who liked to watch the girls shower and who pulled down the pants of a varsity player, and another coach who made comments about his genitalia as well as that of his players.
2. Said parents and students made a complaint to the coaching staff and the District School Board of Citrus County. The district suspended without pay the coach who made the inappropriate comments during its investigation. They also reprimanded him.
3. After the invesitgation was complete, the girls who had complained feel they were retaliated against. They say they were made to feel unwelcome. Their families were threatened with lawsuits by the coaches' lawyers. And they allege the coaches asked the district to expel two of them because they allegedly live outside the Citrus County School District.
4. This has led to the current lawsuit against the district school board. The family is asking for an injunction (against the expulsion I would assume) and costs and damages for Title IX violations.
I suspect some of the details got muddled in the reporting of this story and in my re-reporting of it. As we find out more, we will certainly add/correct.
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