[EDEQUITY] RE: Title IX and Football

From: Kristen Galles (kgalles@erols.com)
Date: Fri May 19 2000 - 10:25:59 EDT


Linda IS right. Title IX DOES have an exemption for contact sports. Title
IX
CANNOT be used by females to play on boys' football or wrestling teams.
Girls
who have been successful on such cases have brought them under the Equal
Protection Clause of the US Constitution or their state equal rights
amendments. The equal protection analysis requires that a school's
exclusion
be substantially related to an important governmental interest. The only
govt
interest in excluding girls from FB teams would be safety, but courts have
found that such a blanket exclusion is wrong. Thus, each girl must be
considered on her own merit. If she is too small to play football, then
she
can be excluded, but if she is big enough and tough enough to not be at
extra
risk, then she can play. Again, all these cases are based upon the
CONSTITUTION and NOT Title IX. Kristen Galles, Equity Legal



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