Just the Facts, Please

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women's Law Center

While most newspaper editorials support Title IX, they also make incorrect assumptions about the law, according to a study analyzing editorials from 2002-05 by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. Some pieces propound the stereotype that the law is unfair to men because they are more interested in sports than are women, and that men's teams have been cut because of Title IX. Of course, the federal courts have unanimously rejected such assumptions as legally impermissible and have chided schools for their chutzpah in not providing female students with equal opportunities and then asserting that they are not interested in sports. In addition, the facts show that male participation in sports continues to increase, that male athletes still receive the lion's share of athletics dollars, and that men's programs favor football and basketball over the lower-profile sports that are being cut.

Given the media's immense power to shape public opinion, it is imperative that they get their facts right.