Before the month of June comes to a close, I'd be remiss if I didn't recognize a significant anniversary that took place earlier this month. This month marked the 40th anniversary of one of the most important pieces of federal legislation ever to impact the sports world. I'm, of course, talking about Title IX. I'd even be willing to argue that because of what it's done for women in sports, Title IX is right up there with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.
I'm a member of the Title IX Generation. I don't know what life was like without women having equal opportunities in sports. I'm even having trouble imagining it. But the fact that people my age and younger take these things for granted is all that needs to be said about Title IX's legacy. What was considered groundbreaking 40 years ago has become the norm. Back then, the idea of women as athletes was a foreign concept. Now, the reverse is true. Even more important, female athletes are some of the greatest role models out there.
When I was thinking about how I wanted to do this blog, I came up with way too many ideas. It would be impossible to do a countdown of the greatest female athletes. There are simply too many. And going through the whole history of the law and its impact would simply take too long. So, what I decided was to recognize what I still consider to be Title IX's watershed moment. The moment when everyone finally got it: the 1996 Olympics.
The 1996 Olympics were 24 years after the passage of Title IX. That, obviously, means that many of the athletes that went to Atlanta were among that first generation of girls that reaped the rewards of Title IX. The fact that they were all entering their athletic primes is only part of the story. More importantly, these American women's teams were all going to take center stage (and steal the spotlight) during a home Olympics.
Sure, American women also had their success in individual sports like track and swimming at the Atlanta Games, but it's the American performance in the team sports that's especially noteworthy. The United States won gold medals in women's basketball, gymnastics, soccer and softball in Atlanta...with the first generation of female athletes that felt the benefits of Title IX all the way from youth sports to college and beyond.
Just as significantly, softball and women's soccer made their Olympic debuts in 1996. While Title IX was, obviously, only a federal law in the U.S., it was the impetus for change worldwide. Female participation in sports grew exponentially everywhere. One of the reasons for this growth is, obviously, the fact that foreign female athletes were now able to get full scholarships to attend American colleges. So, it's safe to say that Title IX has had an even greater impact than what was originally intended. (In fact, the law itself makes no mention of sports.)
As important as the 1996 Olympics were for Title IX, they were nothing compared to what happened three years later. The 1999 Women's World Cup has to rank up there as perhaps the shining moment for women's sports in this country. For three weeks during the summer, football stadiums were filled for every game and TV ratings were through the roof. And it was all capped by that scintillating final between the U.S. and China that was attended by 103,000 people at the Rose Bowl. No women's sporting event before or since had ever been played in front of that many fans. We all remember the penalty kick shootout and Brandi Chastain's spontaneous celebration. It was one of the greatest moments in the history of women's sports, and it inspired a whole new generation of female athletes.
Perhaps that's the greatest legacy of Title IX. Sure, the law gave women so many opportunities that they'd never had before. But people still needed to get it. And they do. The 1996 Olympics and 1999 Women's World Cup proved that. So does the fact that the WNBA is still going strong in its 16th season. And as long as young female athletes have the Misty May-Treanors and Hope Solos and Missy Franklins to look up to, Title IX will continue to have an impact on the next generation.
Is Title IX one of the most important pieces of legislation ever to affect the world of sports? That's an uneqivocal "Yes." Just ask the parents of millions of young girls who've played youth, high school, college and professional sports in this country over the past 40 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment