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American Morning

Title IX: Time to Go?

Aired August 30, 2002 - 08:46   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For much of the week, a federal commission has heard testimony on the civil rights legislation known as Title IX. In effect, this 30-year-old law forces schools with men's sports teams to allow women to play. In that time, more than five times the number of women have started playing sports. Some say the U.S. women's soccer league and the WNBA would not have been possible without it. Others say it simply created a quota system, and has forced several colleges to cut men's athletic teams.
We are bringing you several perspectives hear. First on the commission, we go to Houston, Texas, Cynthia Cooper, an Olympic gold medalist, former professional basketball player and now co-chair of the commission on the opportunity in at athletics, taking time to look and study Title IX.

Cynthia, a huge pleasure to have you with us here this morning.

CYNTHIA COOPER, FMR. PRO & OLYMPIC BASKETBALL PLAYER: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.

KAGAN: First, let me ask you, what effect, what impact did the Title IX legislation have on your life as a young girl, A young woman and your career?

COOPER: Well, I grew up in the inner city. And if there was no Title IX, I would have never had the opportunity to attend college and further my education through a basketball scholarship. So I am definitely a product of Title IX and testimony that it has been successful.

KAGAN: So clearly, of you've benefited. Now your role is different. You have to have about an open mind and sit there and listen to people who say, you know what, it hasn't really helped us, in fact, it has hurt us. How are you able to do that?

COOPER: As co-chair of the commission, Along with Ted Leeland (ph), that is my role. And it has been very informative and interesting to listen to all of the testimonials and the wrestlers and how passionate it they are about not only their sport, but keeping Title IX in place, because we have heard a lot of testimony that they don't want to do away with Title IX. They just don't want wrestling to have to pay for extra or more women's sports.

KAGAN: Is the Bush administration asking for this commission, the secretary of education, Rod Paige, calling for it. Does this mean, ultimately, Title IX will be changed? COOPER: No, it doesn't mean that it will be changed. It means that Secretary Paige will take into account our recommendations, whichever way our recommendations might go. And he will -- they will make the decision, and he will make the decision if Title IX needs to be changed, or what needs to be done.

KAGAN: Cynthia Cooper, with the commission on Title IX. Cynthia thank you so much?

COOPER: We want to move on now to be joined by two people whose lives are directly affected by Title IX, Agnus Berenato is the women's basketball coach at Georgia Tech. She's in Atlanta. And from Washington, Eric Pearson, former wrestling coach at Princeton University. Now a member of the college sports counsel and one of the groups suing the government for Title IX.

Both coaches, good morning, thank you for joining us.

ERIC PEARSON, FMR. WRESTLING COACH: Thanks for having us.

KAGAN: Coach Pearson, I'm going to start were you we you. Tell me, what would you like to see changed with Title IX?

PEARSON: We applaud Title IX. And it's obvious that it's been a tremendous impact in the lives of female athletes, and it's fantastic that there are more opportunities out there than ever for women to play sports. Buy our issue is with proportionality. And unfortunately, proportionality has turned Title IX on its head, where it's now a law that actually allows discrimination based on gender.

If you look at the practice of roster management, which is the most widespread form of discrimination, practiced anywhere in the United States, men are deliberately being discriminated against just because of their gender.

KAGAN: Coach Berenato, what did you do you say to that, that when you make this a numbers game you are hurting men and men's sports and not really benefiting women?

AGNUS BERENATO, GEORGIA TECH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: I disagree with that. It's not a numbers game. There are three parts to Title IX, and proportionality is just the first part. There are two other parts.

And I think that with Title IX, nowhere does it say that you have to cut a wrestling team to gain a women's volleyball team. That's an administration's decision. It is as if you were having seven people for dinner.

PEARSON: You have to address the issue of roster management, which is a...

KAGAN: Be more specific for those that are not covering sports.

PEARSON: Roster management is a numerical limit that's placed on programs, men's programs, by administrators. to bring an athletic department into proportionality with the university. And that's one of the most widespread practices that really is deliberately discriminating against men.

BERENATO: Coach, with that, some people point out the problem and the benefactor is men's college football. You have a hundred guys playing on that team. You count a hundred, you have to come up with a hundred slots for women. Is football the problem, and is in fact -- are you going after the wrong enemy here? Is then enemy not women's sports, but the way they count the roster spots on the football team?

PEARSON: Clearly, we are not saying that women's sports are the enemy. We feel there can be a win-win solution to this. And to go after football is simply a smokescreen, because the majority of programs that have been eliminated are in Division III. And Division III doesn't offer scholarships, they don't have big time programs.

KAGAN: Coach Pierce, our time is really short. So I want you to offer up one of the possible solutions rather than one of the problems, please.

PEARSON: We would love to see a way where you can strengthen the way to measure interest.

KAGAN: And coach Berenato, is there a way to maybe tweak the system a little bit, to make it more fair for men, or are you just worried that something that has been so beneficial for women over the years is in danger, and that is Title IX?

BERENATO: To be honest, I'm not worried at all, because I think that discrimination cannot stand at any level. A I think Title IX is just fine.

PEARSON: We agree.

BERENATO: It is absolutely fine the way it is. But it is up to the administrators to learn how to cut the pie, bottom line.

PEARSON: If we allow Title IX to stand as it is regulated, then you allow discrimination based on gender, which is exactly the opposite of what Title IX is intended to be.

KAGAN: We will be watching it. The commission meeting in Atlanta this weekend, moving across the country to you hear other views as the summer and the fall goes on.

Eric Pearson, coach Angus Berenato, thank you so much for joining us with your insight and your input today.

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