Not IX but...

Two stories this week that were tangentially related to Title IX or have Title IX implications.

First, the story everyone is talking about: Texas A&M's Chalk Talk for Women. Let's leave aside for now how these football for women camps/events are becoming a money-maker for intercollegiate football programs and what they exploit. The gist: offensive slides describing football tactics using sexual innuendo and re-writing the school fight song

Outside the Lines interviewed an attendee, a woman who is head of the Aggie Mother's Club. She defended the coaches and the event calling it satire and noting that no one she encountered during the event (there were 700 women registered) complained and that they enjoyed the presentations. She said she laughed it off and attributed it to the coach's sense of humor and time in the military. She did not feel it sent a negative message to people about anything because there was--in her opinion--no message being sent. She said the coaches were being attacked with negative messages. She is going back next year.

Others have noted that at a time when football programs especially are trying to teach young men to respect women, this was hugely inappropriate and a step backwards. It is inappropriate at any time, of course. But there factors that speak to the culture of the A&M program that could, if a Title IX issue arises, come to the forefront.

First, one of the coaches who made the presentation and was subsequently suspended without pay for two weeks was a former coach for the Miami Dolphins. An offensive line coach who was fired in the wake of the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito bullying scandal. This is an example of toxic masculinity and misogyny and how it travels from one institution to another.

[Side note: Jessica Luther's book about sexual violence and intercollegiate football is coming out soon and I am very interested in reading it. Here is an interview with Luther.]

Second, the Aggie female fan who found nothing wrong with the talk also is indicative of the culture of A&M football. It is possible that there was no visible reaction because 1) women did not feel comfortable speaking out or even walking out in that space which was marked by fervent fandom and sexism and.or 2) female fans expect and accept that behavior as the price of fandom. One must accept the culture as it is--just as that fan in attendance accepted the coach's sense of humor and attributed his demeanor to his military service.

This is especially troubling because when something happens and female student comes forward and says she was sexually assaulted by a player, those fans will turn on her. We have seen it everywhere. These victims get run out of town--almost literally--because of the backlash. The culture of football includes the culture of fandom and if programs are running events for fans that makes them responsible for this as well.

On a sightly more positive note, the two-week, no-pay suspension of the two coaches who ran the chalk talk, the condemnation of the head coach (who issued the suspension) and the school president is at least a demonstration that the program is not being indifferent to the issue. (I have a post planned about how Baylor keeps resisting this.)

The second story, which has received far less attention, is about racial discrimination in women's sports. Three Black female basketball players from Cottey College in Missouri are suing the school saying they were treated differently from white players. They spoke of segregated practices, less playing time, and eventually expulsion from the team for what the school is calling behavior problems.

Again, not Title IX, but a reminder that discrimination is intersectional and that Title IX does not address the issues that women of color face in sports. This story reminded me of Jennifer Harris's case against Penn State and Rene Portland as well as the one from earlier this spring from Iowa State. Head coach Bill Fennelly (along with the school) is facing charges from a former player that he discriminated against her because of her race. Nikki Moody said that the coach called her a thug and created a hostile environment. In sum, sexism is not the only type of discrimination female athletes face and racism happens regardless of how many people of color are on a team.