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American Morning

Talk with Olympic Gold Medalist and Cofounder of Women's Sports Foundation

Aired February 06, 2002 - 07:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: It has become one of the most memorable moments from the world of sports. American soccer star Brandy Chastain celebrating after her World Cup-winning goal in 1999. That image, of course, is pretty indicative of just how farm women's sports have come since 1972. That is when Title IX was enacted, the landmark federal law banning discrimination in educational programs. And Donna De Varona, Olympic gold medalist and cofounder of the Women's Sports Foundation, says, "Despite many gains, sports today is still far from a level playing field."

Donna joins us now from Washington, along with here 12-year-old daughter Joanna, who joins us from Connecticut this morning. Good morning to both of you, welcome.

DONNA DE VARONA, OLYPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Good morning.

JOANNA DE VARONA, DONNA'S DAUGHTER: Hi.

D. DE VARONA: Hi, Joanna.

J. DE VARONA: Hi, mom

ZAHN: Oh, yeah, now you get to see your daughter for the first time this morning. So, Donna, we just saw the pictures of Brandy Chastain fit and strong. How much credit do you give to Title IX for the great strides women have made in sports?

D. DE VARONA: Well, pre 1972, there were no team sports in the Olympics. That happened in 1972 after the passage of Title IX. There was actually one sport, volleyball. And, in fact, women's soccer wasn't in the Olympics until Atlanta, and that's hard to believe -- 1996. Because of Title IX, there are now over 800 women's soccer programs on the collegiate level, which basically is the equivalent of -- in many schools, the equivalent of hosting a football team. Because in schools under Title IX, you have to have equitable programs, not necessarily equal. And under Title IX, football programs can spend more money on producing and fielding teams.

But as we know, this 1999 World Cup soccer tournament -- I was chairman of it -- took the country by storm. But it showed that there's 79 percent of all those polled do support Title IX and women's participation in sports because of what it brings. Not necessarily Olympic champions, but what it teaches on the playing fields -- how to compete and how to take care of one's body.

ZAHN: But, Donna, you also have to acknowledge that has sparked its fair share of criticism. You know, you've had columnists over the years referring to it as a charter for crazed feminist social engineering. You have Mike Moyer (ph), the executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association laying the blame for wrestling programs going down the high schools across the country for Title IX.

D. DE VARONA: Paula...

ZAHN: Has it cost men some power on the field?

D. DE VARONA: You know it's interesting, men have cost men power on the field. Men still receive over $160,000 more in scholarship money and are given over more than 30 percent of the participation opportunities in schools. So Title IX really has not done its job. I think the most unfortunate thing about Title IX is that it has been positioned to pit men against women. And it's not really a gender issue, it's an issue of how athletic departments decide to spend their money. And many athlete departments would rather hire a million- dollar coach and drop men's wrestling, than keep the minor sport and maybe suffer from this arms race in trying to compete in football with other universities.

ZAHN: Well there was a story about a school spending a lot of money just re-paneling the coaches offices...

D. DE VARONA: That's right.

ZAHN: ... and cutting $60,000 for two women's programs. How common is that?

D. DE VARONA: That's right, if you -- I think it's very common. You have to just look at the truth. And, you know, it's really unfortunate, wrestling has suffered. It is on the endangers list, but so is women's gymnastics and men's gymnastics and swimming.

So rather get into the trenches with the have-nots, it would be better if the pro teams and the NCAA and the Olympic committee and all these groups come together and find a way to fund these programs on campuses, which really do provide our best training grounds, instead of just cutting them and staying in this trench war between men and women. Because it isn't Title IX that's the issue, it's the athletics departments that decide that they want to support football or basketball instead of funding wrestling or gymnastics or swimming for men.

ZAHN: Let's talk about the generation of women this is probably going to effect most, and that's the -- the young girls that your daughter represents. Joanna, you have the benefit of having an Olympian as a mother, so of course she's been a very positive role model in that respect. But how important do you really think sports are for young girls and boys?

J. DE VARONA: Well I think it's important to be equal. I mean, it's otherwise not fair, if the girls can't do wrestling or, you know, swimming or even football. You know?

ZAHN: And so you certainly can speak to that, but you say that there's still a long way to go for women here -- Joanna.

J. DE VARONA: Well, yeah. Yeah, definitely. But, still, the women have come a long way since like men only had sports for themselves. Women couldn't do anything, but now they can do jobs, they can do sports. But still, I mean, we still have a little bit to go, like...

ZAHN: So, Donna, where does the debate go from here?

D. DE VARONA: Well I think the debate should go back into partnerships. I mean, I don't want to see men's wrestling cut. My little son wrestles and he loves it. And he may face a day when he goes to a university and they don't have a program. So -- and I also think we have to look at this war with this arms race with football teams really taking the money away from minor sports so that they can compete with other universities. And it is true that over 81 percent of the football programs in this country -- in the NCAA -- do not make a profit and they spend more than they bring in.

And in Division 1A, a third of the teams lose over $1 million a year. So if we want to keep minor sports on the campus for both men and women, we shouldn't fight with each other. We should find other sources of revenue and work together.

ZAHN: Donna, we're going to close with a picture of you when you were that two-time Olympian at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and just -- I don't know if you've been following this controversy over this flag that was retrieved from ground zero.

D. DE VARONA: Yes, right.

ZAHN: Now the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Olympic committee will not allow the Olympians to carry into the opening ceremonies, but I guess they'll raise it during the opening ceremonies. Do you have a problem with that? Should the American athletes have been able to bring that flag to the stadium?

D. DE VARONA: Well, I'm -- I'm currently an adviser to the Olympic committee, and Sandy Baldwin and the offices of the Olympic committee really wanted to respond to the athletes who wanted to make a statement, as all Americans do. And our team is not funded by our government, it is funded through private donations. So I think that, you know, this was a gesture and a sentiment that the U.S. Olympic committee supported.

However, the compromise has been that the flag will be raised during the ceremonies. It will fly during the entire Olympic games, which I think is very important for our team and our nation.

ZAHN: And when it flies, I was told that it will look much better than what we just saw, because it has been repaired somewhat since these pictures were taken. Donna De Varona, thanks for your time. And, Joanna, good luck to you. J. DE VARONA: Thank you.

ZAHN: Hope to see you on a cover like your mother did many, many years ago. Good luck to you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sports.

D. DE VARONA: Thank you, Paula.

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