College Sports Council  P.O. Box 53356, Washington, DC 20009-9356    November 15, 2002    The Hon. Rod Paige  Secretary of Education  U.S. Department of Education  400 Maryland Street, S.W.  Washington, DC 20202    Re: Commission on Opportunity in Athletics    Dear Secretary Paige:    In advance of the fourth and final town hall meeting of your Commission on   Opportunity in Athletics, we write you a third and final time to protest the   exclusion of the executives of the National Wrestling Coaches Association,   College Swimming Coaches Association of America, and the College Gymnastics   Association who are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Department's   Title IX rules on athletics.  As set forth in our letter dated October 2,   2002, we believe that the Department and individuals in its employ have   retaliated against us first by excluding us from the Commission itself (while   nominating as Commissioners three current or former executives of groups with   well-known positions contrary to ours) and then by excluding us from   appearing as panelists before the Commission (again, while including as   panelists several current or former executives of groups with well-known   positions contrary to ours).    Although disappointed by our exclusion from serving on the Commission, we are   simply stunned by our exclusion from even appearing before the Commission.    As you know, the Department's Title IX regulations provide that "No . . .   person shall . . . discriminate against any individual . . . because he has   made a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in . . .   [a] proceeding under" Title IX.  34 C.F.R. §§ 100.7(e), 106.71.  Thus, the   prohibition against retaliation extends not just to recipients of federal   aid, but to any person - including the Department and individuals in its   employ.  In the absence of equal representation before the Commission at the   last town hall meeting, we will have little recourse but to take legal action   against those who have illegally discriminated against us.      We extend this letter to you as a courtesy, and have no doubt that you are   not personally involved in these illegal actions.    Sincerely yours,    Eric Pearson  Chairman, College Sports Council  202-429-2097    cc: The Hon. Gerald Reynolds, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights  Brian Jones, Esq., General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education  Louis Goldstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education for Policy  Deborah A. Price, Executive Director, Commission on Opportunities in Athletics