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Title IX at 50: Girls are still fighting for equality in high school sports

(Bryon Houlgrave/USA TODAY Network)
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By Jacob Richman and Alexandra Gopin

Title IX was designed in part to balance the scales for girls and boys in school-based athletics. Some day, maybe it will.

But nearly 50 years after Congress passed the sweeping law that guarantees equity in “any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” including high school athletics, girls are stuck in an imperfect system that continues to favor boys in many ways.

Girls’ participation in school sports has increased dramatically since 1972. But Title IX advocates say that boys still get better treatment. Often, they say, boys teams are provided nicer uniforms, play on better fields, are led by more experienced coaches, have their practices scheduled at more desirable times (relegating girls teams to early mornings and late nights), play with newer equipment and dress in better-equipped locker rooms. All are potential violations of Title IX.

“We still estimate that the majority of schools are likely out of compliance with the law,” said Sarah Axelson, vice president of advocacy at the Women’s Sports Foundation.

When girls see that they’re getting worse treatment, their options include challenging their coach or principal, filing a lawsuit and lodging a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education — all daunting for a teenager. When parents step forward to report these situations, they’re often at the center of disputes that can roil their child’s high school. Not surprisingly, only a small percentage of likely violations end up being reported.

A four-month investigation by The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland raises serious questions about the effectiveness of Title IX in the 23,882 public high schools across the U.S. It raises concerns about how many of the 3.4 million girls playing high school sports have experienced violations of Title IX that went unaddressed.

Among the findings:

  • Title IX isn’t aggressively policed by state or federal government officials. It’s mostly up to teenagers and their parents to report violations.
  • Most parents and students aren’t well informed about the law. The federal government doesn’t require schools to offer education about Title IX and athletics.
  • Reporting Title IX violations often means standing up to school officials like coaches and principals. That’s a lot to ask of high school students and their parents.
  • Title IX enforcement protocols are cumbersome and slow-moving. A review of 39 complaints to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by the Povich and Howard centers showed that the average time from filing to resolution was nearly two years. That means girls who suffered unequal treatment often graduated before they saw results.

Violations reach girls across the country:

  • In Union City, New Jersey, a highly publicized athletics field that sits on the roof of a $180 million high school building was mostly used by boys teams. For nearly 10 years, access for girls was limited.
  • In Ewa Beach, Hawaii, girls on the water polo team argued that they had to practice on dry land or in the open ocean before their season because they couldn’t get funding for a pool.
  • In Ventura, California, girls on the softball team suffered injuries on a field that was poorly maintained, while the boys baseball team had a field that was better tended at a higher quality stadium.

“Most of these athletes just presume that there must be a reason that they’re getting second-class treatment,” three-time Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar said. “It’s everywhere they look. They see that men are getting more than women everywhere. In high school, in junior high school, in college, men are getting more.”

There’s no doubt that Title IX has had a positive impact on girls and opportunities for them to play sports. Consider Title IX’s impact on participation in high school sports. During the 1971-72 school year, girls made up about 7% of high school athletes in the country. For every girl playing on a high school team, there were more than 12 boys.

Most of these athletes just presume that there must be a reason that they’re getting second-class treatment. It’s everywhere they look.

Through the years, the participation gap steadily has narrowed. In a National Federation of State High School Associations survey of athletics participation in the 2018-19 school year, girls accounted for almost 43% of all high school players.

But the promise of Title IX has yet to be achieved.

Education is lacking

The greatest challenge may be education. Teenagers and their parents first have to understand the law before they challenge school authorities.

Interviews with dozens of parents and their children across the country by the Povich Center and Howard Center revealed a range of understanding of Title IX. Many high school athletes and their parents don’t know that the law exists. Others said they’d heard of the law but didn’t know that protections applied to them.

In the late 1970s, Ellen Zavian — the first female agent licensed by the National Football League Players Association and a Title IX advocate — wanted to play soccer in high school. But she was told she wouldn’t be able to because there was only a boys team.

So Zavian ran track, played volleyball and cheered.

“If I had known about Title IX, I definitely would have filed a suit against my school when I didn’t have the opportunity to play soccer,” Zavian said. “But, I didn’t know about it.”

That information gap still exists. Grace Saad, a former softball player at Buena High School in Ventura, California, didn’t realize she could do anything when her teammates threw around the term “Title IX” after noticing a clear disparity in how they were treated compared to their counterparts on the baseball team.

I knew that things weren’t equal, but I just thought that’s the way it was.

While the Buena High baseball team has a stadium, dugouts and a permanent outfield fence with a scoreboard, the softball team often didn’t have enough softballs to hold batting and fielding practice at the same time.

“I knew that things weren’t equal, but I just thought that’s the way it was,” said Saad, who graduated in 2020.

Courses and webinars in public schools could help inform students, coaches and administrators. But a federal education mandate like the one for parts of Title IX that refer to sexual assault doesn’t apply to sports.

Difficult choices for student, parents

At the beginning, someone notices a problem. It might fit into one of the two baskets of Title IX compliance — “participation” or “treatment and benefits.”

Participation applies to opportunities for girls to play sports as compared to the percentage of girls in a given high school, the proportionality test. If 60% of students in a high school are girls, approximately 60% of athletic opportunities should be for girls, according to Title IX.

Treatment and benefits refers to where girls play and what they play with, among other things. Title IX doesn’t mandate that boys and girls teams have exactly the same of everything. It does require that they receive equal treatment in locker rooms, practice and game venues, scheduling of games and practices, publicity and coaching experience.

At Pentucket Regional High School in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the issue was Twitter. When the school tweeted live updates from its athletics account, 60% focused on boys teams compared to only 32% for girls teams. The Office of Civil Rights determined that the school would be required to monitor publicity efforts to ensure that any inequalities are corrected.

A person with a concern about any of these issues can report them to their high school. A meeting with a principal or athletics director might quickly settle the issue.

When diplomacy fails, there are options in the courts and with the Office for Civil Rights.

Under Title IX, the the office investigates complaints about sexual violence, treatment of pregnant students and treatment of LGBTQ students, as well as school-based sex discrimination in sports. When a person files a complaint, investigators contact the school, check out allegations and decide if violations have occurred. If they have, the civil rights office issues a resolution letter with steps the school must take to come into compliance.

A Title IX lawsuit can be costly and time-consuming. Plaintiffs, even when they prevail, often emerge feeling bruised and exhausted.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, a group of softball parents filed a Title IX lawsuit against the local school district in August 2020. Ten months later, the parties reached a settlement that addressed many of the parents’ concerns.

“It’s been quite an emotional toll. I think we’ve all lost sleep over it,” said Angela Morgan, a plaintiff in the case and president of the softball team booster club at Stillwater High School.

Eliminating sex discrimination

Title IX is rooted in the turbulent years of the 1950s and 1960s and the passions that fueled the civil rights movement. In those years, Congress debated laws designed to end racial discrimination in public accommodations, outlawing discrimination in hotels and at lunch counters. Later, its powers were expanded to end discrimination in hiring when companies received government contracts.

Title IX’s purpose was to eliminate sex discrimination in education. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” Title IX states.

At the time, few lawmakers thought about the effect it might have on sports. The subject of sports came up only once during the Senate’s months-long debate of the legislation — and that was no more than a passing exchange. Sen. Birch Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana and the bill’s sponsor, told one of his Senate colleagues: “I do not read [Title IX] as requiring integration … of the football fields,” as recounted by author Welch Suggs in “A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX.”

Despite the profound impact the statute has had on girls and women in sports, those original 37 words included no references to athletics.

Nearly 50 years later, Title IX and opportunity for girls in sports are nearly synonymous. The gains made by high school girls over the decades have been significant, but boys often still get better treatment.

When the state-of-the-art, rooftop athletics field was unveiled in 2009 in Union City, New Jersey, it quickly gained national attention for its innovative design. The boys football team played on it for nearly a decade; use by girls teams was restricted.

The National Women’s Law Center pointed out the problem to Union City High School, and the administration made changes.

Today, girls teams share the field with boys, using it extensively for their practices and games. In fact, Union City High School is in many ways a model for gender equity in sports.

It’s a reminder that Title IX can be monitored and aggressively enforced. But for 50 years it hasn’t been.

The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism collaborated on a four-month investigation into Title IX and high school sports. Support their work at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Caitlin Clark Player Edition Kobe 5 Sneakers Fly Off Nike’s Shelves

An image of the Nike Kobe V Protro sneakers designed by WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
The Nike Player Edition Kobe V Protros designed by Caitlin Clark sold out in minutes on Monday. (Nike)

The first Nike Player Edition sneakers designed by WNBA star Caitlin Clark sold out almost immediately on Monday morning, with fans snapping up the limited run of the Fever guard's Kobe 5 Protros within minutes of the 10 AM ET online drop.

Inspired by the Indiana Fever's colors, Clark's high-gloss Kobe shoes come in Midnight Blue with a tongue and additional accents in Bright Crimson, as well as "vibrant hits of University Gold."

Though Nike did not disclose actual stock numbers, multiple sneaker insiders estimated that Monday's release included just 13,000 pairs of Clark's edition.

Originally on sale for $190 through Nike's website, the Kobe 5 Protro PE is already topping $350 on the resale market.

Clark has been a Nike athlete since inking an NIL deal with the sportswear giant just before her junior NCAA season at the University of Iowa in October 2022, with the WNBA sophomore later signing a reported eight-year, $28 million endorsement contract just after finishing her collegiate career.

That current deal, inked just after the Indiana Fever selected Clark as the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, includes the release of a signature shoe.

While Nike still plans to add Clark to its signature shoe roster, the brand appears to be testing the market's waters using the guard's preferred on-court Kobe sneakers — to a sellout success.

How to buy the Caitlin Clark x Nike Kobe 5 Protro PE

Plans looking to pay retail prices for Clark's latest sneaker design will have to wait for Nike to restock, with online resellers like StockX, GOAT, and Flight Club currently selling the shoes at a significant markup.

Waivers, Trades Rattle WNBA Standings as Teams Hunt Midseason Boosts

Dallas Wings forward NaLyssa Smith looks down during a 2025 WNBA game.
Former Dallas Wings forward NaLyssa Smith was abruptly traded to the Las Vegas Aces on Monday. (Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images)

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming later this month, teams across the league aren't waiting for the August 7th deadline to pull the trigger on trades and waivers, significantly shaking up league rosters.

On Monday, Dallas abruptly traded forward NaLyssa Smith to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for a 2027 first-round draft pick, surprising Smith and her Wings teammates — including girlfriend DiJonai Carrington.

"Sick to my stomach dawg, never seen this coming," Smith posted to X after the WNBA announced the trades, adding "if I could've chose anywhere to go it would've been Vegas, so hella excited [for] this new opportunity."

WNBA trades target future prospects

The recent WNBA trades both reflect the depth of options Dallas has in their frontcourt — most recently boosted by the Wings acquiring center Li Yueru from Seattle last month — and indicates the team's early play at a talented WNBA Draft class, with NCAA stars like USC's JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo going pro in 2027.

At the same time, Smith's trade extends Las Vegas's first-round draft drought, with the Aces — who last added a first-round selection in 2022 — currently without an early draft pick until 2028.

As the Las Vegas focuses on leveling up this season, hoping Smith helps boost their current seventh-place league standing, the Aces also added roster cuts to their Monday trade.

Las Vegas handed out waivers to guard Tiffany Mitchell and second-year forward Elizabeth Kitley, who was selected 24th overall by the Aces in the 2024 WNBA Draft despite tearing her ACL at the end of her NCAA career.

Golden State Valkyries guard Julie Vanloo looks on during a 2025 WNBA game.
Golden State waived Belgian guard Julie Vanloo as she returned from winning the 2025 EuroBasket. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Golden State waives 2025 EuroBasket champ Vanloo

Making their own controversial Monday move was 2025 expansion side Golden State, as the Valkyries cut Belgian guard Julie Vanloo shortly after the 2025 EuroBasket champion rushed to return to California, skipping her national team's title-winning celebrations.

"Literally just touched down in the bay," Vanloo wrote on an Instagram story littered with broken heart emojis. "I need some time to process all of this man and put my feels into words. I can't right now."

While Golden State faces backlash for the timing of the cut, waiving Vanloo ultimately opens up a contract for the Valkyries, with rumors swirling that either guard Kaitlyn Chen or forward Laeticia Amihere will earn the roster spot after impressing as replacement players during European absences.

All in all, with WNBA roster space remaining at a premium, teams are making big swings in an effort to shore up their ranks as they push toward the 2025 season's halfway point.

Indiana Fever Face Minnesota Lynx at 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Final

The Indiana Fever huddle during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Indiana Fever will play in their first-ever Commissioner's Cup final on Tuesday night. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final tips off on Tuesday night, when first-time finalist Indiana will look to upset reigning Cup champs Minnesota in a winner-take-all showdown for both bragging rights and the lion's share of the in-season tournament's prize pool.

With the total purse set at $500,000, athletes on the winning team will earn around $30,000 each — plus an additional $5,000 for the Commissioner's Cup final MVP — while losing players will take home $10,000.

While Tuesday's final won't count toward the regular-season WNBA standings, the battle will be the first meeting between the Lynx and Fever this year, adding first-clash drama to the already-high stakes.

"I think it's going to feel like a playoff game. It's going to be really fun," Lynx star Napheesa Collier told reporters, noting Minnesota's home-court advantage in the matchup. "Our fans show up for us every game, but especially in that environment ... it's going to be electrifying."

Despite the excitement, player availability could tip the scales in Tuesday's outcome, as both Collier and Fever guard Caitlin Clark contend with recent injuries.

While Collier returned from a lingering back issue without missing a beat last weekend, Clark missed Indiana's last two games due to a groin issue and is currently "questionable" to play for the Commissioner's Cup.

"I'm going to be day-to-day," Clark said on Sunday. "Doing everything I can to put myself in position to play the next game. That's always my goal."

How to watch tonight's WNBA Commissioner's Cup final

The Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever will take the court for the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final at 8 PM ET on Tuesday.

Live coverage of the in-season tournament's championship game will air on Prime.

WNBA Drops All-Star Game Starters, Taps Rookie Paige Bueckers

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers celebrates a play during a 2025 WNBA game against the Indiana Fever.
Paige Bueckers is the only rookie to make the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starting lineup. (Mercedes Oliver/NBAE via Getty Images)

The WNBA dropped its All-Star Game starters list on Monday, with just one rookie earning enough votes to feature on the star-studded 10-player lineup.

In addition to being the lone rookie, Dallas's No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers will be the only All-Star debutant playing in the game's first minutes, as the Wings guard joins nine previous All-Stars to tip off the July 19th matchup — giving her a presumptive edge in this year's Rookie of the Year race.

Joining Bueckers as WNBA All-Star starters will be team captains Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) and Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), as well as Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), and A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).

A mix of 50% fan voting, 25% player voting, and 25% media voting determined the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starting lineup — though the three groups did not necessarily come to a consensus.

For example, players ranked Clark ninth among guards, while the media put her in third. A record-setting 1.29 million fan votes boosted the Fever star into a captain's role.

As for players who fell just short of a starting position, like Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell and Chicago forward Angel Reese fell just short of starting at their positions, their All-Star dreams aren't over yet.

Head coaches across the league will now vote to select 12 reserve players, likely adding both fan favorites and stat-sheet stars to the July 6th final All-Star player pool, with Collier and Clark building their teams from that list on July 8th.

Though reputation, skill, and popularity all factor into All-Star nods, this year's group is also underlining the depth of the WNBA's talent base.

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