Sexism and sports: A bad combination

Sexism seems to stick to sports like a fungus. First, there are the scantily clad cheerleaders, who many male fans treat as if they are not there to lead cheers but to gather leers. The most popular female tennis player is someone better known for her backside than for her backhand. For some reason, people cannot seem to get enough of Anna Kournikova, even though she could not win a single match in a Grand Slam event in 2002. There is also the infamous Miller Lite commercial that seems to only run on ESPN or during sporting events in which two attractive women wrestle and rip each other's clothes off in a fountain during an argument over whether the beer tastes great or is less filling.\nDespite all of this "attention," the athletes who deserve the spotlight are largely overlooked. On Saturday, Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser became the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional ice hockey game. Her triumph for Salamat of Finland barely showed up on the sports news radar. The case of the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team, who have the longest win streak in Division One women's collegiate basketball history, is even more striking. They surpassed Louisiana Tech's mark of 54 on Jan. 18 with a 72-49 victory over Georgetown. If this was men's basketball, the game would've been televised nationally. Instead, not even ESPN2 picked up the game in its entirety, instead showing the Horizon League showdown between Loyola-Chicago and Detroit. No offense to either school, but it is unbelievable that a mid-level conference was on national television over this historic achievement. \nAs women continue to battle for a spot on the sports landscape, the opportunity to do so may be slipping away. Title IX is on the verge of being rewritten by the Bush administration after a panel recommended some alterations in the law that could lead to fewer opportunities for women in high school and collegiate sports, despite the obvious benefits. Girls who play sports have higher senses of self-esteem, better accept their body image and are at less risk for health problems like heart attacks later in life. A 1990 survey by the Institute for Athletics and Education showed girls who play sports are 80 percent less likely to become pregnant and over 90 percent less likely to use drugs than their non-sporting sisters. Sports may be the ultimate way to help women through the difficult years of high school.\nIf so much good could come from female athletics, why is there the possibility of rewriting Title IX? Part of the problem is the negative view of women's athletics by men's fans. It is viewed as simply a poor substitute for men's sports. As I overheard someone say recently, the women couldn't possibly compete with men's teams, so why should we watch? However, women's sports is not about competing with men. It doesn't matter if a man would dominate a woman's event. Women do not have to play men; they play other women. The women's game is just as, if not more, attractive as, the men's and needs to be enjoyed in its own right.\nIn addition there has been a demonization of the very act that gave women the right to participate. Title IX has been blasted by many male coaches because programs like wrestling and swimming have had to be cut. This is not an issue with Title IX, but with NCAA guidelines and athletic departments. The law merely says equal opportunity; it is the athletic directors that decide that men's teams simply should be cut to accommodate the added teams. Why hasn't the NCAA at least investigated whether or not teams need 85 football scholarships? Aren't there other ways to come up with scholarships and teams for women without cutting non-profit making sports? \nHere at IU we have been lucky. The athletic department has found ways to keep sports like wrestling while adding opportunities for women, including elevating field hockey to varsity level. Most women's games, including the defending Big Ten tournament champion women's basketball team, are free to students. Turn out and support women's athletics. They might not have much longer to prove their worth.