Minority Views on the Report of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics.

This report asserts that there are several findings and recommendations which have been included in the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics' report, which made recommendations for substantial changes to current Title IX guidelines and policies. It fundamentally disagrees with the tenor, structure, and significant portions of the content of the report, asserting that: it fails to present a full and fair consideration of the discrimination women face in athletics; any recommendations made by the majority would seriously weaken Title IX's protections and reduce opportunities for girls and women; and only one of the proposals would address budgetary causes underlying the discontinuation of men's teams. This report examines reasons why it cannot support many of the Commission's key recommendations, and it identifies problems with the Commission's process which contributed to problems with the report and with the recommendations that will weaken Title IX's protections. The paper asserts that these problems are due to a process, established by the Commission, that did not adequately focus on critical issues, did not compile all necessary evidence to fully address the state of gender equity in U.S. schools, and did not allow sufficient time for Commissioners to conduct a careful review of evidence that was compiled or an assessment of the potential impact of various recommendations. (SM)