Clarification: Washington Times headline

In the Washington Times (June 25), ASC Chairman Eric Pearson called out the media, activists and government officials for refusing to recognize the deleterious effects of current Title IX enforcement policies, namely those stemming from proportionality and the three-part test as a whole.

But if you look at the article’s headline chosen and published by the Washington Times, “After 40 years, Title IX is getting old for boys: Law letting girls into college sports ends up pushing boys out,” you will surely be confused.

Contrary to what the headline claims, the American Sports Council has always maintained that it fully supports both men and women playing sports. We have never believed nor stated that permitting women to play sports has harmed male athletes. Just look at high school sports. The three part test has never been applied to scholastic sports (until now), and the total number of both male and female athletes has grown. The increase in the female opportunities certainly hasn’t harmed the males.

Instead, we take issue with  the arbitrary numerical limits created and institutionalized by proportionality. Also known as defacto gender quotas, these numerical limits incentivize schools to eliminate or cap opportunities for men and manipulate the rosters of women’s teams. Using numbers instead of interest to expand or cut athletic opportunities is a surefire way to ensure sex discrimination — the very opposite of why Title IX was written and implemented.