Legendary softball coach Sue Enquist calls for Title IX accountability

Sue Enquist is a trailblazer in softball, leading UCLA to a national championship as both an All-American player and the sport’s most decorated coach.

Enquist’s landmark success on the diamond has carried over into her work off the field since she retired from coaching in 2006. Following her 27-year tenure at the helm of UCLA softball, Enquist has committed herself to upholding Title IX, of which which she calls herself a direct beneficiary. The 1972 law prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school, including athletic programs.

On the latest episode of NETLIFE, Enquist tells host Dawn Staley that she now works as an expert witness with law firms to ensure colleges and universities comply with Title IX.

“We know overall in this country a majority of our schools are out of compliance, and it is very difficult to hold them accountable because we have so few law firms that have Title IX directives,” Enquist says. “We need more law firms to be doing pro bono work around Title IX, we need more coaches to step up and say there is a discrepancy here.”

The former Bruins coach disputes pervasive claims that the 1972 law harms men’s sports programs in its pursuit of equity.

“Nowhere in Title IX law does it say you cut men’s sports to gain equality for women’s sports,” says Enquist, calling that line of thinking a “fallacy.” To fix the problem of Title IX compliance, Enquist says it’s crucial for the media to tell stories of inequality on college campuses.

“There are no administrators that want to be in the glare of the media spotlight around gender equity,” she says.

Moving forward, Enquist, 64, hopes high school and college administrators prioritize Title IX compliance rather than adhering to the status quo.

Listen to the full conversation between Enquist and Staley on NETLIFE.