Title IX Creates Gender Inequality in the Other Direction

The anger about the athletic cuts at UC-Berkeley, especially about the loss of varsity status for the men’s rugby team, isn’t abating. The following comes from an open letter from Nina Sasso, a Cal graduate, to the school’s Athletic Director, Sandy Barbour. It was published in the student newspaper, The Daily Cal:

While a student at Cal, I spent a portion of my time competing for the varsity women’s crew team. As a former female student athlete, I can appreciate the opportunities that Title IX afforded me as a female athlete.

However, the second that Title IX unfairly undercuts a men’s team under the guise of promoting women’s athletics, the purpose and intent of Title IX is completely nullified; it simply creates gender inequality in the opposite direction. Title IX dictates that participation in sports cannot be denied on the basis of sex. Denying rugby the right to remain a varsity sport solely on the basis of its male roster violates the main objective of Title IX. How does cutting men’s rugby improve women’s athletics in any way?

This story isn’t over. Not by a longshot.