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Gender inequality in sports

Gender inequality in sports is something that has existed for decades and will continue to exist for as long as professional sports leagues operate. The reason is simple. A professional sports league operates with only one thing in mind, making money. How many people can honestly say that they would rather watch women play a game more than they would like to watch men play that same sport. I will admit that occasionally it is enjoyable to watch a womens game to see the subtle differences created by a difference in athletic ability. Women often focus more on teamwork and fundamental skills, which can be refreshing to see after watching men rely only on their raw athletic ability. Unfortunately that is what the sports viewing public wants to see. There will always be more money available for mens sports because of the revenue that can be generated through the media.

Now at the college level there should be a difference because the athletes are not being paid, other than possibly a scholarship. They see no money so there should be no reason to stock up on entertaining athletic players to wow the crowds. Unfortunately money is also a key idea at the college level. Major spectator sports such as football draw in revenue that often pays for the programs that draw less attention. So it would make sense for a school to fill the spots on those money making teams with entertaining players to reap the economic benefits. Title IX has tried to put a stop to this. Title IX supposedly provides equal opportunities for both men and women. However, it does not provide equality, it only provides an equal number of spots and scholarships for male and female players. No one can deny that the talent pool is much deeper when considering males simply because there are a lot more males who are interested in playing sports competitively that there are females. In effect this means that it is harder for a male athlete to earn a scholarship than it is for a female athlete. There is more competition for the same number of scholarships, so a male could be more deserving of a scholarship than a female athlete, but because of the stronger field of competition she will get one and he will not. Title IX has created an equal number of scholarships, but this does not provide equal opportunity.

Before Title IX many women would have been overlooked in place of a male that could generate more revenue for the school. Unfortunately, Title IX has taken the wrong approach. We need to find something


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Gender inequality in sports

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