Is Girls' Weightlifting the Solution to Title IX Compliance Problems?

Yes, says Jackie Metcalf, who coaches female high school weightlifters in Florida. In a recent article in the New York Times, Metcalf expressed surprise that her state is the only one to sanction girls' weightlifting as an official sport, “because it’s a great way to get girls involved for gender equity. You don’t have to be a skilled athlete to do this.”

In addition to being inclusive of those less coordinated, weightlifting offers athletic opportunity to girls of different sizes and body types, and unlike the country club sports popular in wealthier areas of the state, weightlifting is accessible to participants of various economic means. And, girls' weightlifting flies in the face of stereotypes about girls and strength. The athletes interviewed in this story report they now they feel at home in the weight room and wear T-shirts with slogans like "Silly Boys, Weights are for Girls."

Girls' weightlifting is still not as readily accepted elsewhere as it apparently is in Florida. Recall this story about a girl temporarily banned from weightlifting class because the principal feared for her safety in the weight room with other boys. We suggested that this rationale was sadly ironic; denying her the opportunity to participate in weightlifting only ensured that she would continue to be physically vulnerable to the very thing the principal feared -- the sexual aggression of boys.

In this context, the idea that Title IX might motivate schools to open the weight room door to girls is very appealing to me. What could be better than busting up stereotypes, achieving equity in the distribution of athletic opportunities, and giving girls of all types and backgrounds access to physical strength and power, all in one?

Female HS Student Temporarily Banned from Weightlifting Class Loses Case

In January 2006, her senior year at Anderson County High School in Tennessee, Ambrea Phillips enrolled in the weightlifing and conditioning class regularly offered by her school. After a couple of days, she was notified that she would not be allowed to participate in the class because Principle Bob McCracken feared that in a class of large, strong guys, she might be at risk for sexual assault. To fill the then-unscheduled period, Phillips was assigned to work as an office assistant in the guidance office. Three school days later, however, McCracken let Phillips back into weightlifting class after the state attorney reminded him about Title IX.

Phillips sued the school board for damages for the emotional and physical distress that she suffered as a result of her temporary suspension. But on December 19, following a hearing, a magistrate judge in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Tennessee granted the School Board's motion for summary judgment. 2006 WL 3759893. Essentially, Phillips's case fell short for failing to allege that the defendant school board knew about and was indifferent to McCracken's decision to exclude Phillips from the class, and thus cannot be liable for his actions.

Had the decision to exclude Phillips from weightlifting been the school board's rather than the principal's, however, it would have constituted sex discrimination within the scope of Title IX:

While Dr. McCracken's concerns may have been well-intentioned, there does not appear on the record to be any objectively reasonable basis for his concerns. There is no evidence in the record of prior student-on-student sexual harassment or sexual assaults during the weightlifting and conditioning class, nor is there any evidence of any misconduct or inappropriate activity on the part of this particular teacher. Accordingly, while there may have been a possibility of a sexual assault occurring, it cannot be said that this possibility was any more likely in this class than in any other class where both male and female students are present. Accordingly, the Court finds that the plaintiff's removal from the weightlifting and conditioning class was unwarranted and discriminatory.

If I had been the judge, I would have also emphasized that the appropriate remedy for school harassment is to punish, remove, or supervise the (potential) perpetetrators, not the (potential) victim. And I would have pointed out the patriarchal paradox in McCracken's rationale: The strength disparity that makes men physically capable of assaulting and raping women is ensured when men have access to weighlifting and women are excluded. If McCracken's concern for Phillips as a potential rape victim justified anyone's exclusion from the class, it certain was not Phillips's.