Federal Funding

In my last blog, Quotas?, I discussed whether or not athletic programs have to meet a quota in order to be in compliance with Title IX. Instead, institutions only have to pass one component of the three-pronged test in order to be in compliance. In this blog I will discuss different Title IX violations and the resulting outcome..

One of the most talked about Title IX violations in the news currently is Baylor University’s football team and its rape scandal. According to Jon Solomon, a CBS Sports Senior Writer, “The public wants blood. Some fans and media are shouting for the NCAA to give Baylor the so-called ‘death penalty.’”1 In this context the death penalty means that the NCAA would ban the football team from competing for at least a year. Some of the most recent allegations in this developing lawsuit are at least 52 acts of rape that took place from 2011-2014 by 32 Baylor football players. Allegations are aimed at coaches who “encouraged female students in the Baylor Bruins (a football recruit hostess group) to have sex with recruits and players.” Assertions have also been made by a student athletic trainer who claims that she was raped; she then withheld this information due to the fact that Baylor officials offered to pay for her education if she did not say anything.1 Even after many women claimed that they were sexually assaulted by Baylor football players, it is not looking like the NCAA is going to do much in the way of punishment. As Jon Solomon said, “civil lawsuits and a federal investigation by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) could produce far more effective discovery than anything obtained by the NCAA, which lacks subpoena power.”1

Another recent violation of Title IX is Southern Methodist University (SMU) and its sexual harassment case. “Following its investigation, OCR determined that SMU violated Title IX by failing to promptly and equitably respond to student complaints of gender-based harassment and sexual violence, including sexual assault, and to reports of retaliatory harassment.”2 SMU was found to have not responded appropriately or in a timely manner to complaints of sexual assault of a male student by another male student. The institution was given a slap on the wrist and made an agreement to “proactively address the issue of sexual violence on campus.”2

Just this past December the University of Minnesota was “blindsided” when multiple football players were suspended for allegations of sexual assault. This came as a shock to the team because the players were suspended indefinitely while they were preparing for a bowl game in San Diego. The players “were suspended earlier [in the] season for violating team rules after a woman accused them of sexual assault.”3 Because no criminal charges ever came from the allegations, the players were allowed back on the team. “The woman went back to court and took out restraining orders barring the athletes from TCF Bank Stadium, Both sides eventually reached an agreement after the woman testified, detailing a graphic encounter with multiple players.”3 The “latest indefinite suspensions are a result of an internal University of Minnesota investigation into the allegations, conducted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Some of the 10 Gophers players are facing not just team suspensions but expulsion from the university.”3

These three cases are just a few of the recent Title IX violations that have been in the news. As of January 2016, “there were close to 250 in [The Chronicle of Higher Education] database, with just under 20 percent of them listed as ‘resolved.”4 “A school found to violate Title IX in theory could lose federal funding and students or parents could sue for violations. However, while some lawsuits have been successful, ultimately no school has lost federal funding.”5

After reading further into these Title IX violations I am shocked that these institutions have not lost their federal funding. No school should cover up their athlete’s wrong doing just so they can win a game. I believe that there should be harsher punishment and that schools should be afraid to lose their funding instead of being confident that their lawyers will get them out of trouble. Coaches and administrators should be role models for their athletes and set a good example that will impact them for the rest of their lives. Maybe actually following through with the threat of taking away federal funding will have a positive influence on other institutions to do the right thing.

1Solomon, Jon. (2017, February 2). Why the NCAA may never punish Baylor for its rape scandal the way fans demand. CBS Sports. Retrieved from

http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-the-ncaa-may-never-punish-baylor-for-its-rape-scandal-the-way-fans-demand/

2U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Southern Methodist University Found in Violation of Title IX, Commits to Remedy Harassment, Sexual Assault of Students. Retrieved from

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/southern-methodist-university-found-violation-title-ix-commits-remedy-harassment

3Fox 9 Minneapolis. (2016, December 15). Minn. football players ‘blindsided’ by suspensions after sex assault investigation. Fox News Sports. Retrieved from

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/12/15/minn-football-players-blindsided-by-suspensions-after-sex-assault-investigation.html

4Richmond, Emily. (2016). Is Your College on Feds’ List of Title IX Investigations? Here’s How to Find Out. Education Writers Association. Retrieved from

http://www.ewa.org/blog-educated-reporter/your-college-feds-list-title-ix-investigations-heres-how-find-out

5Druckman. J. N., Gilli, M., Klar, S., & Robinson, J. (2014). Athlete Support for Title IX. The Sport Journal. http://thesportjournal.org/article/athlete-support-for-title-ix/