TITLE IX ATHLETICS GENDER EQUITY ATTORNEYS
CONTACT US NOW FOR A CONSULTATIONExperienced Title IX Athletics Attorneys
NEWS UPDATE: Federal Temporary Restraining Order Granted Preventing Elimination Of UCONN Women’s Rowing Team
Click here to read U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill’s ruling granting a TRO in the UCONN women’s rowing Title IX case.
Click here to read the UCONN plaintiffs’ complaint.
Fighting for equal rights in educational athletics programs across the country
Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, educational institutions that receive funding from the federal government are prohibited from discriminating against students or employees based on their sex. The law covers all aspects of the educational experience—including sports programs. Unfortunately, despite the clear legal requirements of schools to eliminate discrimination between the sexes, such discrimination still persists. Though the opportunities for girls and women to participate in athletics programs have increased since the enactment of Title IX, their overall opportunities remain far from equal to men’s, as females participating in college sports only receive an estimated 28 percent of the school’s total financial output for athletic programs. Many students and coaches are still striving to identify Title IX violations in sports and achieve equal opportunities for all students.
The highly experienced Title IX sports attorneys at Nesenoff & Miltenberg, LLP are passionate about enforcing Title IX provisions to eliminate sex discrimination in educational athletics. If you believe your school is in violation of the law, please call Nesenoff & Miltenberg, LLP at 212-736-4500 today for a consultation.
Requirements for schools under Title IX
In regard to athletics, Title IX requires that federally funded educational institutions do the following for you:
- Offer equal opportunities for males and females to play sports;
- Allocate athletic scholarship funds equitably between the sexes; and
- Provide equal benefits and services to athletes of both sexes, including coaching, equipment, facilities, travel, scheduling, training and medical services, recruiting, housing or dining, publicity, and tutoring.
Often, inequalities under Title IX come to light when a school is considering budget cuts. In many cases, schools may wish to keep programs for one sex fully funded while decreasing funds for teams of the other sex. However, budget cuts may violate Title IX if they create inequalities between sexes or exacerbate any existing ones. If funding for programs is equal, disproportionate cuts can create disparity while proportionate cuts can serve to aggravate disparities in already unequally funded programs. In this way, budget cuts often violate Title IX.
Coaches and students can fight for non-discrimination by identifying Title IX violations
If you or your coach believes that your educational institution is violating Title IX, you should discuss the situation with an experienced Title IX lawyer as soon as possible. There is a three-prong legal test used to determine whether your school is in compliance with the requirements of Title IX:
- Are the opportunities for each sex to participate in athletics proportional to the enrollments of each sex at the institution?
- Has the institution demonstrated a history and continuing practice of expanding athletic programs for the underrepresented sex?
- Do the current athletic programs and opportunities fully and effectively accommodate the abilities and interests of the underrepresented sex?
If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you may likely have a viable legal claim against the institution to increase opportunities for yourself and other members of the underrepresented sex and to decrease sex discrimination in athletic programs.
Contact an experienced Title IX athletics lawyer for a consultation
Nesenoff & Miltenberg, LLP is committed to standing up for gender equity under Title IX. Our highly knowledgeable Title IX and Conduct Code lawyers understand the importance of Title IX sports cases so that you can have an equal opportunity to participate in sports, so please call 212-736-4500 to discuss your case with a highly experienced and passionate Title IX attorney today.