OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS:

A FEMALE ATHLETE'S EXPERIENCE AND PERSPECTIVE

by

Sheryl Swoopes

A SENIOR THESIS

in

GENERAL STUDIES

Submitted to the General Studies Council in the College of Arts and Sciences at Tech University in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF GENERAL STUDIES

Approved

R. JUDITH HE Y Assistan v· e President, St~den A airs, TTU Co-Chair of Thesis Co · tee

DR.;2RY OWENS Department of ~th, P.E. and Recreation Co-Chair of Thesis Committee

Acc~ted

DR. DALE DAVIS Director of General Studies

DECEMBER 1994 :r')\r,.".-- 1~ \ ',,' j \ : ' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

. \. ,,~ . Opportunities for women in sports is a very important subject to me. In

preparing my paper, a lot of people were there to help me with it. My thesis

committee members--Dr. Mary Owens and Assistant Vice President of Student

Affairs, Dr. Judith Henry--contributed a lot of their time, professional advice

and direction along with moral support. Dr. Dale Davis,

Director of General Studies, provided patient assistance from the beginning of

the proposal to the finished product. My typist, Amy Nelson, contributed her

time and even her weekend to work on it. And I thank my mom for being

there, not just four years through college, but five. I am also greatful to my

fiance for being there to encourage me not to give up. Last, but not least, I

thank God for giving me the talent to play and the wisdom and

knowledge to prepare this thesis. For all of the help that I have received, I am

greatly appreciative.

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ii

CHAPTER

I. A PERSONAL CASE HISTORY ...... 1 My Background ...... 1 Junior High ...... 3 High SchooL ...... 3 The University of Texas ...... 7 South Plains College ...... 10 Texas Tech University ...... 12 The Final Four ...... 1 5 II. TITLE IX ...... 18 Passing of Title IX ...... 18 Court Cases ...... 18 Results of Title IX ...... 19 III. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES ...... 24 Careers in Broadcasting ...... 25 Professional Basketball League in the ...... 25 BIBLIOGRAPHy ...... 28

iii CHAPTER I

A PERSONAL CASE HISTORY

In exploring the topic of "women's opportunities in sports," I will begin in this chapter describing my own past experience as a female athlete, proceed in chapter two to analyze some of the factors that are shaping women's collegiate sports in the present (especia"y the passing of Title IX), and conclude in chapter three with some speculations about the future for women in professional sports.

She gets the , dribbles the length of the floor, crossover dribbles past one defender, reverse pivot and spin past another defender and scores.

Texas Tech University has just won its first ever Women's NCAA Division I

National Basketball Championship, 84-82, over Ohio State University in

Atlanta, Georgia, in April of 1993.

My Backgrouod

Who would have ever thought that something like this could happen to me, , a little West Texas girl from Brownfield? I grew up in a single-parent home with Mom and two brothers, James and Earl. The reality of ever winning something as big as a National Championship only seemed like a dream. Little did I know that the game of basketball would someday turn my life completely around.

1 It all began when I was seven or eight years old, growing up in

Brownfield. With not much to do in town, especially for an eight year old, I decided to try my skills at a sport--basketball. We did not have the money to buy a goal or have a driveway built to play on, so we had to make do with what we had. My brothers put together a tire rim, without a net, and an old wooden frame for the backboard. Every day after school my brothers would come home and do their homework, and then it was outside to shoot some hoops. I, on the other hand, would come home, do homework, and then play with my kitchen set or dolls. After a while, I got tired of dolls and kitchen sets and decided I wanted to do something a little more fun and exciting. I wanted to play ball like my brothers. I knew this idea would not go across well with them or my mother. My mom did not want me to play because she thought

I would get hurt. My brothers did not want me to play because girls were sissies and could not play basketball, especially with boys. I was determined to play anyway.

The first few times I played with them were nightmares. They did everything from hitting me with the ball to pushing me down on rocks, stickers or whatever else they could find that would hurt me. like any eight-year-old child, I ran inside crying to mom and told her what happened. She would rub my knees and say, "Baby, I told you those boys are too rough for you to play with. Stay inside with mama and play with your dolls." At that moment I felt rejected, not only by my brothers but my mom as well. I thought that of all

2 people, my mom would understand how I felt about playing basketball and support me, but not even she knew how much all of this meant to me. As the years went on, I continued trying to play basketball with my brothers, but nothing ever changed. I finally decided to give up.

Junior High

Once I entered junior high school, I decided to give basketball another shot. I made the A Team (the better team). It just did not seem like much fun anymore, because I did not have my brothers telling me I could not play, so it did not feel like a challenge. I tried not to look at it that way and to go ahead and have fun playing with all my friends. Through the two years of junior high that I played, I began to enjoy the game even more than I had growing up as a child. I had grown up a little and learned to enjoy more parts of basketball, like the competition and the friendships, instead of just playing for the fun of it. I realized that I had accomplished something individually, but the only thing

I had not done yet was prove to my brothers that I could play.

High School

Going into high school was a hard adjustment for me. I was scared because I did not have many friends and did not know my way around, not to mention I was a freshman. The only thing I was excited about and looking forward to was basketball. Playing in high school was different from playing

3 in junior high because there were three different teams that one could try out for: the freshman team, which was the one I thought I would make, the junior varsity and the varsity. I was nervous and scared the first day of practice, but at the same time very excited.

During the first few weeks of practice the varsity coach would come and watch us workout everyday before it was time for the varsity team to work out. We all tried to play extra hard and impress the coach, but all we could do was make mistakes. I never felt I was good enough to make the varsity squad as a freshman, so I tried not to think about the possibility of it happening. I continued to practice with the freshman team until about two weeks before our first game.

I was getting ready for practice one day when the varsity coach approached me and said he wanted me to suit up with the varsity team for the day. I was in total shock and did not know what to say or how to react. I tried to remain calm and act as if I could handle it, but down inside I was about to explode. I guess one of the reasons I was so surprised and excited was that

I had never in my wildest dreams thought I was good enough to play with the

"Big Girls." After he told me the news, I could not wait to tell my friends. I knew they would be just as excited as I was, but to my surprise, they had already heard and did not seem too excited, as I had thought they would be.

They started calling me names and said I thought I was better than they were.

I did not know what to say or do, so I just walked out and started to cry.

4 went to the coach and told him what had happened in the dressing room and that I did not want to lose my friends that I had had since junior high. He explained to me that I had to grow up and do what was best for me if I wanted to be successful someday. He also said he understood how hard it was for me to leave the girls I had grown up playing with, but on the other hand they should want the best for me as well. At that , I thought about what he said and decided that no thing or no person was going to stop me from doing something I had always dreamed of doing. I got ready for practice and didn't think about anything else.

At first I was scared and afraid to get out there with the varsity girls, but after a while I relaxed and everything worked out all right. On my way home after practice, all I could think about was telling my mom and wondering what she would say and how she would react. All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind, but I still did not know what to expect. I was tired once I got home.

The only thing I wanted was a drink and to sit down and rest. When mom got home, she came over to me and asked what was wrong. At first I lied and said nothing, but after a while I told her the truth and tried to prepare myself for her reaction. To my surprise, she did not react any way I had anticipated she would. Instead, she hugged me and said she was very proud of me and for me. She later told me that she realized how important this was to me and that she would support me in any way she could. At that moment, I did not

5 care about anything else. The only thing I thought about was my mom being proud of me, and that was all that mattered.

I continued to play varsity basketball throughout my four years of high school, and every year my skills improved. Teamwise, we seemed to improve every year as well. My junior year we won the 3A State Championship, and my senior year, we got beat in bi-district play by Dimmitt. I went from averaging 15 points as a freshman, to averaging 24 points a game as a senior.

It was not until my senior year that I started wondering what I was going to do after graduation. I had not received any scholarship offers to go to college, so

I figured that option was out, since that was the only way my mom could afford to send me.

As the end of our season drew closer and closer, I finally started getting offers to attend some of the top universities in the country. I received letters from the University of Texas, Texas Tech, University of Southern California,

Louisiana Tech and several others. At first I did not think there was any competition in choosing which school I wanted to attend. Knowing the history of the University of Texas and the kind of basketball program they had always had, I knew that was where I wanted to go. I informed my mom, coach and friends of my decision, and everyone seemed excited for me except my mom.

It was not the fact that I was leaving to go to college, but where I was going and how far away it was. As the summer of my senior year was coming to an end, I had to prepare myself for a totally different world (so it seemed)!

6 The time finally came around for me to leave and it was just as hard as

I had thought it would be. I said my good-byes at the airport and headed for the plane. While on the plane, all sorts of thoughts were going through my mind. I knew it was going to be hard at first, but I was ready to face that challenge. I started thinking about how rough and hard it had been for me and my family growing up as a child, and also how hard it was finally getting my brothers to accept my decision of wanting to play basketball. All I could think about was that I had finally accomplished something I had been working on since my childhood. We had about 45 minutes left before landing in Austin,

Texas, so I decided to close my eyes and just think about all the good things that were now to come.

The University of Texas

Once we had landed, the assistant coach of the Lady Longhorns was there to meet me and take me back to my dorm room. During the drive back to campus, I just sat there and admired the beautiful trees and thought about how much fun I was going to have playing basketball for the University of

Texas Lady Longhorns. We finally arrived back at my dorm and started unloading all of my things. Once we had gotten my things to the room, I did not even take the time out to unpack any of my stuff. I wanted to go out and view the different parts of the beautiful campus. I walked around for about two hours before returning to my dorm. It was not until I had been Sitting

7 there in my room for a few hours before the fact that I was now out on my own actually hit me. I still had not unpacked any of my things nor put my bed linens on my bed. All of a sudden, I started to feel really alone, with no one to talk to. I did not have a phone in my room yet, so I could not call my mom or any of my friends back home. At that moment, I sat back on my bed, closed my eyes and began to cry until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, was the start of a very busy day, so I got up early enough to eat breakfast and give myself plenty of time to prepare for my meeting with the head coach, . I knew what she thought of me as a player, but I wanted to give a very good first impression of what I was like off the court. One of the assistant coaches picked me up at 8:45 a.m. and drove me to Coach Conradt's office where I was to meet with her for the first time. I sat there trying to picture what she was going to be like and also what she was going to say once she got there. Our meeting was scheduled for 9:00 a.m., but she did not show up until 9:15 a.m. or so, which only gave me more time to get even more nervous than I already was. Once she got there, she shook my hand and said how happy she was that I had decided to become a

Lady Longhorn. We continued to talk and discuss several issues as far as what she would expect of me and also what I should expect of her as well as her coaching staff. The meeting lasted for about an hour and a half. Then I returned back to my room.

8 Once I had gotten back to my room, I started thinking about my mom, brothers and friends back home, and began to wonder what they were doing.

I almost started crying again as I finally realized that the University of Texas was not the place I really wanted to be. I thought to myself, "Is it because it's too far from home? Is it because classes haven't started yet and I don't really know anyone?" All of these seemed like logical reasons, but I still knew I wanted to go home. The weekend was rolling around, and I had purchased airline tickets to go home for the weekend. When I bought the tickets, I had no intentions of staying at home once I got there, but that is exactly what happened. I talked to my mom and told her how miserable I had been the four days I was in Austin and that I really did not want to go back. That news sounded like music to my mom's ears because she did not want me to go that far in the first place. She asked me if I had told the coach of my intentions of not going back; I told her no because I had planned on going back when I left.

She told me to call the coach and explain to her why I did not want to go back and let her know my decision. I knew that was the right thing to do, but on the other hand, I did not really know how to tell her. I finally got up enough nerve to call Coach Conradt and inform her that I would not be returning back to the University of Texas to play basketball. She sounded very disappointed and tried to change my mind at first. Once she realized how serious I was about my decision, she said she understood why I had made that choice if I

9 was not happy. The hardest part was now over, but I still had another problem: Where would I go to play now?

I knew that I couldn't go to another Division I school that year without having to sit out a year because of NCAA rules. My only other choice was to go to a junior college. That was not a very tough decision after the experience

I had been through prior to coming back home. The main factor in my decision this time was the distance from home. I knew I wanted to stay close to home, so my only choice was South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. The college had recruited me out of high school, but I did not know if it was still interested in me or not. I knew the only way to find out was to call Coach Hardin and find out. By this time, it was getting late, so I decided to call him first thing the next morning.

South Plains College

Once I woke up, the first thing I did was to call Coach Hardin. I was not really sure what I would say to him. The only thing I knew was I had to talk to him. When he answered the phone, the first thing I did was tell him who

I was and what I was calling for. I could tell by his voice that he did not believe me at first. He thought I was playing a joke on him that one of my friends, who was playing for him that year, had put me up to doing. After I finally convinced him that this was no joke, he started to take me seriously.

He told me that they were definitely still interested in my playing for the Lady

10 Texans. He said, "If you are really interested in coming to school here and playing basketball, meet me in the morning (which would be Monday) at 8:00 a.m. in my office." I assured him that I was serious and would definitely meet him at his office on Monday morning.

The next morning, my mom and I drove to Levelland to meet Coach

Hardin at 8:00. Once we got there, he introduced himself to us and then proceeded to discuss the real issue of why we were there. He gave me all of the information I needed in order to get registered, and then my mom and I were on our way. It did not take me long to get everything taken care of since the campus was not very big and I was pretty familiar with it. After we had gotten everything done, my mom helped me get settled in my dorm room, and then she left to go home.

This time was completely different. Even though I was still going to be away from home and by myself, I had a sense of relief and felt very much at home. Classes had already begun, so I had to work twice as hard at first to catch up. I had imagined that my classes were going to be so large and hard that I would never get caught up. To my surprise, they were the total opposite, which made things only that much better. Now that I had gotten the feel of the classroom, it was time for basketball practice. When I first got to practice, I was very nervous because I did not know how the other players were going to accept me as a transfer. All of the players were extremely nice

11 and seemed thrilled to have me as part of their team. That was the icing on the cake.

My freshman year was very successful, both for me and for the team.

We made it to the JUCO National Tournament and ended up with sixth place, which was still a great honor for me. I was also chosen as a JUCO AII­

American. This was a tremendous honor for me since I had never viewed myself as one of the top-ten junior college players in the country. My sophomore year was also a good year, but not as good as my freshman year.

I received more individual honors, but this time I was selected as the Junior

College Player-of-the-Year. You can imagine how thrilled I was about this award.

My sophomore year was coming to an end, and once again I had to decide where I would go play next. Knowing that I still did not want to go far from home, I chose Texas Tech University. Little did I know this was the decision that would practically change the rest of my life.

Texas Tech University

The year before I got to Tech, the Lady Raiders had beaten the

University of Texas Lady Longhorns for the first time ever in the school's history, so I knew they would have a good team the following year. Just like the girls at South Plains, my teammates at Tech were just as nice and receptive of me. This time I did not feel nervous at all the first day of practice.

12 I figured I had grown up a little more and could handle the situation better now.

My first year at Tech was an incredible one. We won the Southwest

Conference Championship for the first time, won the post-season Southwest

Conference Tournament, beating the University of Texas in the championship game and made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen Tournament before losing to Stanford in the championship game. It was a tough loss for all of us, but we were still proud of all we had accomplished in one year.

That summer were the tryouts for the 1992 Olympic Team. I decided to give it a shot and see just how far I could make it before getting cut. The tryouts were held in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training . I had been there before on two other occasions to try out for a USA Team and never made it. This summer, there were players there that I grew up watching or hearing about: players like , , Nancy

Lieberman, and many more. I stood there in awe of all of them, thinking to myself, "What are you doing here?" I tried to put that behind me and go on, but it was just too hard. I finally told myself that if I did get cut, at least I will have gained some valuable experience for my upcoming senior season at Tech. To my surprise, I made it past every cut until the last day when I experienced a terrible accident. I was playing defense on one of my opponents. I stole the ball, dribbled down for a left-handed lay-up, and that is when the nightmare occurred. I was up in the air when I felt my right

13 knee lock. As I landed, I felt it pop. At first I thought maybe I had just twisted it or something minor like that. It was not until I tried to get up and walk on it that I realized this was something more serious than a twist or sprain. I could not put any pressure on it nor bend it. I knew that my chances of making the team were now over.

I flew back home the next day and had to undergo orthoscopic surgery on my knee two days later. The surgery lasted three to four hours and I was in and out of the hospital the same day. I got very depressed during my time of rehabilitation and did not think I ever wanted to play basketball again. It took me about five to six weeks to get my knee back in top shape. After I started playing again, all I could think about was my last and final year of playing at Texas Tech.

My senior year was the best year ever, both for me and the team. We ended up being Co-Champions of the that year with the

University of Texas, which was kind of a disappointment, but we were pleased with that anyway. We did win the Southwest Conference Tournament again, which was another accomplishment for us. Now it was time to prepare for post-season play in the NCAA regional tournament. The first round, we defeated the University of Lady Huskies. We then moved on to the second round or the Sweet Sixteen. We knew our first game against the

University of Southern California Trojans was going to be a tough one. We ended up winning the game and had to immediately prepare for the next

14 opponent--University of Colorado. This was the game that would determine who would advance to the next round--the Final Fourl All of us were very nervous because we had never been in a situation like this before. The game stayed close until about midway through the 2nd half, and that is when we

knew we were on our way to , Georgia to play in the Final Four. It was

unbelievable I The Texas Tech Lady Raiders were actually going to the Final

Four, which was something that had never happened in the history of Tech

athletics, both men and women. All of us felt like we were on cloud nine and

didn't want to come down now or ever. We didn't leave for Atlanta until a

couple of weeks later.

The Final FOllr

Once we got there, there were all sorts of activities and events going on,

and it was hard to stay focused on why we were there, but we managed to do

so anyway. Our semi-final game was against Vanderbilt, who was led by

6' 1 0" Heidi Gillingham. At first we were a little intimidated because of her

height and the talent of their team. It took us a little while to get rid of the

butterflies, but once we did, we showed everyone why we were there. We ended up defeating Vanderbilt by a score of 60-48. Everyone was excited about the win, including all of our fans who had traveled down for the tournament. We celebrated that victory, but not for very long because we

15 knew that we still had one more game left to play. This would be the biggest game of my career.

As we prepared for the championship game against Ohio State

University, the only thing we tried to focus on was to continue to playas a team as we had done all year long, and not try to change anything just for this one particular game. Ohio State had an awesome team with some great individual players, which caused a lot of people to think there was absolutely no way we could beat them. We knew that we were considered the

·underdog" in the matchup, but that only made us want to playa lot harder to prove to ourselves that we were very capable of competing with this team and deserved to be there. The time finally came for us to show exactly what we were there for. We got the opening tip and scored the first two points. Then

Ohio State went down and scored. The game continued to go on this way for most of the first half. The second half was a lot like the first half with the lead going back and forth, until about 2:30 left in the game when we went ahead by seven or eight points. Ohio State never took the lead again, but we still were not sure if we were going to win the game or not. It was not until the buzzer had sounded and the scoreboard showed

OHIO STATE - 82

TEXAS TECH - 84 that we actually knew we had won. We all jumped up and down, hugged each other and even cried, letting loose all the excitement that had built up inside

16 ever since the win over the University of Washington. What made it even more special was that my family and fiance were all there to help me celebrate the victory. We also had a lot of Tech fans there who were every bit as happy as we were, if not more.

During the presentation of the trophy and our rings, the only thing I kept saying to myself was, "I knew I could do it." To top off the victory, when we returned home, there were 35,000 fans awaiting our returning at Jones

Stadium chanting, "NATIONAL CHAMPIONS'" At the sound of that, the goose bumps started all over again.

It was not until a couple of weeks later, when I was beginning to come off cloud nine, that an amazing thought hit me: Now that my college career is over, what will I do 7 Knowing that there were not many sports opportunities for women after college, I began to wonder what future I had in sports as a professional career.

17 CHAPTER II

TITLE IX

In 1972 Title IX was passed, and there are now more opportunities in sports for women than there were ten years ago. The reason for this is that

Title IX required that females and males be given "equal opportunity" to participate. "1993 marked the 21st birthday of the passing of one of the most important pieces of legislation affecting sports women in the United States"

(Adrian 73). Title IX banned discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational institution receiving federal funds. According to Parkhouse and

Lapin (1980):

To hear some men tell it, Title IX ranked right up there with the fall of the Roman Empire and the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. They felt that Title IX spelled doom for the American way of life, not to mention everyone of the nation's 36,000 athletic programs. (72)

Had it not been for the passage of Title IX when I was in high school,

I never would have gotten the chance to play basketball in college. Title IX said that women should be given equal opportunity with men to participate in collegiate sports. This meant that women would also be allowed to get scholarships, which was the reason I got to play. One research study states,

"Currently, there are 158,000 women - approximately 1/3 of all intercollegiate athletes participating in college sports, compared to 31,000 or 15% who participated in college sports in 1971" (NCAA as quoted by Adrian 75). "In

18 addition to that, women's intercollegiate sports budgets have increased to over

$116 million, compared to $4 million in 1974" (Sullivan as quoted by Adrian

75). According to Adrian (1993):

Dramatic changes have taken place in sport for girls and women since the passing of Title IX. Hundreds of thousands of females flooded into pools and gyms, and onto courts, athletic tracks and sports fields in the heady years following the introduction of Title IX. (73)

There are still many controversies concerning women in sports. In an early Title IX court case, a judge proclaimed, "Athletic competition builds character in our boys. We do not need that kind of character in our girls, the

women of tomorrow. II (Dyer 109) This statement offended a lot of females who were involved in sports. One female author believed that "women should

learn to take sport participation for its true value, and be less concerned about

being masculine" (Metheny 292).

Several questions have been asked regarding the potential physical

performance levels that the female is capable of achieving in comparison to

men. According to Gerber and Felshin (1974):

Biologically and physically, the sportswoman is different from her counterpart in many respects. She has a stronger body, more endurance, a slightly different body composition, and a superior physiological support system. Since sports is a game of records and statistics, she finds her own performances compared to those of men. (403)

Had it not been for Title IX, female athletes would not have equal opportunity in sports as men. There have been several complaints from high

19 schools and universities regarding compliance with Title IX. "Filings of Title IX complaints or lawsuits have been made at fifteen universities and high school associations in the past three years in attempts to prevent cutbacks in women's sports" (Bruce et al as quoted by Adrian 75).

Three suits were filed by coaches or administrators who claim they were fired for supporting gender equity. Six universities have changed or dropped plans to cut women's sports after administrators became aware that women's sports organizations, lawyers, female athletes and coaches were prepared to fight to retain women's programs. (Grant and Curtis as quoted by Adrian 75)

Six cases were resolved in the athletes' favor although several have been appealed.

The most positive effect of Title IX has been the dramatic increase in opportunities for girls and women to participate in sport. From coast to coast, girl's and women's athletics have come of age. No longer is sweating a sin, nor are female athletes social outcasts. "Instead of female athletes having to mold themselves to meet society's expectations, society is now making concessions to them" (Parkhouse and lapin 3). It has been argued by one author that this new wave of athleticism "represents a genuine quest by women for equality, control of their own bodies and self-definition, and as such represents a challenge to the ideological basis of male domination" (Messner

197). Title IX has definitely given women greater opportunities in sports than they had before. "During the first decade following the passage of Title IX, the percentage of high school athletes who were female increased from 7 percent

20 to 35 percent" (Durrant 61). The percentage of female participation has continued to increase. According to Birrell and Richter (1987):

Between 1971 and 1980, the percentage of female college and university athletes increased from 15 percent to 30 percent. By the mid 1980's, almost 2 million females were involved in interscholastic sport compared with 300,000 before the passage of Title IX. (397)

"Much of the increase was due to institutions expanding their girls' and women's athletic programs" (Durrant 63). Positive effects of Title IX, such as increasing numbers of athletic scholarships and opportunities to play, have not been equally distributed among women. For example, "African American women have not been represented proportionately among the increasing number of female athletes" (Abney and Richey 58). "By 1980, African

American women represented only 6 to 8 percent of all women athletes"

(Adrian 76).

In contrast to increased participation opportunities, Title IX has

negatively affected women's chances to control the future direction of women's sport and physical activity. "During the past two decades, the percentage of females in coaching positions, administrators and officials of women's sports has declined. This downward trend for female coaches has occurred in high schools, two year colleges and four year colleges and universities" (Carpenter as quoted by Pastore 169). Before Title IX, almost all collegiate women's athletic departments were run by women administrators.

21 "By the early 1990's, the male head made the personnel choices in 84.1 percent of colleges and universities" (Fox 34).

"In coaching before Title IX, ninety percent of women's intercollegiate sport teams were coached by women, and same sex coaching was the norm"

(Acosta and Carpenter as quoted by Adrian 76). Today, ironically, the majority of girls and women playing basketball are coached by men. Women are currently under-represented in all aspects of coaching, from volunteer positions to positions on national teams. (Sisley 66). One of the most frustrating points in coaching is why women do not coach men's teams. Although men have found it relatively easy to break into coaching women, female coaches have not experienced the same opportunities to coach men. "In 1972, ninety-nine percent of collegiate men's teams were coached by men. The same is true today." (Acosta and Carpenter as quoted by Adrian 77)

Even in the area of officiating, the picture is similar. "Before Title IX, most athletic contests between women were officiated by women" (Casey

45). Since Title IX, the number of male officials has significantly increased, particularly in the major women's sports of basketball, volleyball and softball.

Only once in the ten years up until 1992 had two women officiated the most prestigious women's basketball competition (The NCAA Championship game).

The other nine years, a woman and man have shared the duties.

The causes for the decrease in the percentage of women in in women's sports are multiple. In a research study done by Acosta and

22 Carpenter (1992), "they found that the huge increases in participation levels both in coaching and officiating, resulted in more jobs and there may not have been enough qualified women to meet the growing demand. In addition, significant increases in compensation have attracted more men, making it

harder for women to get the job. n (Adrian 74)

23 CHAPTER III

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

Through lots of evidence and research, we have seen the dramatic increase(s) in sports participation for girls and women. What are the opportunities we have after college for a career? Promoting sports in America today is big business. According to recent research, "Sport ranks in the top

25 of the largest United States industries" (Helitzer as quoted by Adrian 74).

Women's professional sports leagues featuring team play between cities have fared well. As in other areas in the realm of sport, research on withdrawal and retirement has, for the most part, involved male athletes. "A discussion of retirement should first consider the barriers to women's full sporting participation, ranging from societal attitudes to discriminatory practices in sport organizations." (Penin and Bielby 247) These are the main issues that constrain women's careers in sport in ways rarely experienced by men. Men have the opportunities to play in a professional league in every sport. The opportunities open to retiring female athletes vary widely from sport to sport, depending primarily on the traditional view of the activity as masculine or feminine. One writer suggests that, "since women's life cycles and career patterns, both inside and outside of sports, probably take different forms to men's, conclusions based on men's experience do not necessarily hold true for women" (Perun and Bielby as quoted by Adrian 76).

24 Careers in Broadcasting

Title IX stated that there should be no discrimination based on sex, which opened many doors in many different areas. In the field of television broadcasting, one now sees more and more women like Robin Roberts of ESPN sports, -Cline, first female to play basketball on an all-men's team and other great athletes like , Mimi Griffin and Cheryl Miller, commentators on women's basketball games. How the media audiences respond to these women has remained unclear, however. How do audiences perceive these women? Are they considered credible sources of information.

Several studies have examined gender bias specifically in the media. Whittaker and Whittaker (1976) found no difference in the perceived acceptance, believability, or effectiveness of male and female professional newscasters.

Professional Basketball League in the United States

One area that is still lacking in equality is a professional basketball league in the United States for women. Why should men have the option to either play in the United States or go overseas, while women have to play overseas or choose another career?

Playing overseas can either be a very good experience or a very bad one. In my situation as a professional athlete, it was a very bad one. I left the

25 United States on August 8, 1992 to go play in Europe. I had mixed emotions about this decision at first. On one hand, I was very nervous and scared about going to another country; and, on the other hand, I was also very excited about the opportunity to see different parts of the world. My trip to was nothing like I thought it would be. I was there for three months and then decided I had experienced enough.

My first problem had to deal with money. I could not understand why

had to deal with problems concerning my getting paid for doing my job-­ playing basketball--when the men in the NBA hardly ever have to deal with that problem. Both of these leagues are considered to be professional ones, with the only difference being that one is in the United States and that the other is in Europe. Why should women have to worry with this when the men do not?

Another issue I dealt with while in Italy was the language barrier. Italians could not speak English, and I could not speak Italian, so how could we communicate? The league over in Europe is different from the men's NBA, in that each team is only allowed to have two foreigners on its team. If you happen to go to a team that has someone else other than an American for their other player, then that is just another barrier you have to overcome.

Fortunately for me, I had an American on my team, who was very helpful whenever I needed something. After being over there for three months and experiencing everything from not getting paid to losing every single game,

26 because my teammates were not very experienced. I decided to come home-­ back to the United States.

Through personal experiences and a lot of research, I have learned that women had definitely come a long way in sports, both in terms of greater equality in sports and also greater discrimination in sports. "Whether it has been the courts and Title IX, pressure by athletes, parents, coaches or the women's movement that has brought about such changes, a vast new world awaits the little girls on today's playgrounds. For them it has become a reality; at least there exists a potential for equal opportunity." (Parkhouse and Lapin as quoted by Adrian 78)

With this potential, who knows what great opportunities the future may hold for women in all areas of sport, including professional leagues?

27 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abney, R. , and D. L. Richey. "Opportunities For Minority Women in Sport: The Impact of Title IX." JOPERD (1992): 56-59.

Acosta, R.V., and L. J. Carpenter. Women in Intercollegiate Sport - A longitlldinal Study: 15 years - updated. Unpublished manuscript, College, Brooklyn, New York, 1992.

Adrian, Marlene. "Title IX: 21 Years of Progress." Women In Sport and Physical Activity .lollrnal 2 (1993): 73-78.

Birrell, S., and Richter, D.M. "Is a Diamond Forever?: Feminist Transformations of Sport." Women's Studies International Forum 10.4 (1987): 395-409.

Bruce, T. "Title IX Revisited." The Women's Sports Foundation Newsletter (1991, Summer): 1,5.

Casey, A. "Title IX and Women Officials: How Have They Been Affected?" JOPERD 63.3 (1992): 45-47.

Creedon, Pamela J. Women, Media, and Sport. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1994.

Durrant, S.M. "Title IX: It's Power and It's Limitations". JOPERD 63.3 (1992): 60-64.

Dyer, K. Challenging the Men. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1982.

Guttmann, A. Women's Sports: A History. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.

Helitzer, Melvin. The Dream .Job' Sports Pliblicity, Promotion and Public Relations. Athens, Ohio: University Sports Press, 1991.

Messner, M.A. "Sports and Male Domination: The Female Athlete as Contested Ideological Terrain." Sociology of Sport .Journal 5 (1988): 197-211.

28 Metheny, Eleanor. "Symbolic Forms of Movement: The Feminine Image in Sports." Sport and American Society. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison - Wesley (1970): 291-303.

National College Athletic Association. Gender Eqllity Stlldy. Overland Park, KS: NCAA, 1992.

Parkhouse, Bonnie L., and Jackie Lapin. Women Who Win' Exercising YOllr Rights in Sport. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1980.

Penin, P., and D. Bielby. "Towards a Model of Female Occupational Behavior: A Human Development Approach." Psychology of Women Ollarterly 6.2 (1981): 234-252.

Sisley, B., and S. Capel. "High School Coaching Filled with Gender Differences." JOllrnal of Physical Edllcation, Recreation, and Dance 57 (1986): 39-43.

Somers, Florence A. Principles of Women's Athletics. Cranbury, NY: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1930.

Sullivan, Robert. "A Law That Needs More Muscle." , 1985.

Whittaker, S., and R. Whittaker. "Relative Effectiveness of Male and Female Newscasters." Journal of Broadcasting 20 (1976): 177-184.

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