Title IX Trial to Decide: Is Cheerleading a Sport?
In a trial being closely watched by the women’s sports community, a federal court in Bridgeport, Conn., today was to begin a bench trial on an overarching question: Is competitive cheerleading a sport equivalent to women’s volleyball for Title IX purposes?
Quinnipiac University says the two programs are equivalent sports. But half a dozen players from the Connecticut school’s women’s volleyball program, which Quinnipiac is seeking to eliminate, say they’re not. Also at issue in the case is what the plaintiffs portray as a creative approach to college sports statistics for the purposes of establishing compliance with Title IX requirements for institutions that receive federal funding, according to the New Haven Register.
“I think this is a very important case for schools across the country because practices being done at Quinnipiac are being repeated across the country,” Nancy Hogshead-Makar tells the newspaper. She is a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law and won four swimming medals at the 1984 Olympic Games.
Quinnipiac declined to discuss the case with a Register reporter since it is a matter awaiting trial but said in a written statement that the university is in full compliance with Title IX legislation.
It is represented by Proskauer Rose as well as Wiggin and Dana.
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and Pullman & Comley in Stamford.
Related material:
U.S. Department of Labor: “Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972”
