Guest Column: Letter to the Commission - One Last Thought, by Dale Anderson
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Dale Anderson ()
01/23/2003
Dear Commission on Opportunities in Athletics: I would like to add one last thought with respect to the commission's proposals to the OCR. About five years ago I proffered the argument in an article that the quota as applied under Title IX is much more discriminatory than the quota applied under affirmative action. Let me explain -- The quota as presently applied by the OCR virtually ensures the dropping /elimination of a person presently vested in that position. That is, educational administrators whose schools are not proportional must eventually drop male athletes who PRESENTLY OCCUPY THE SLOTS AND COMPETE. No one presently contesting affirmative action would (or could) make the above argument. The gravamen of an affirmative action complaint (like the woman who was denied admission to the University of Michigan Law School) is that a person who potentially could get the position is denied the "slot" -- whereas the gravamen of a Title IX action is that males presently in a slot are THROWN OUT of the slot and the slot is given to a female. Think for a moment what would happen if in the (University of Michigan case) affirmative action suit at the US Supreme Court, the plaintiff could allege that she was in a law school class when she was told that she was being dropped so that a minority student could take her place! That is exactly what has happened in every case where male athletes have been dumped in favor of female athletes. The only way to remedy this terrible injustice is to abolish proportionality. Please propose that and give administrators a break from the heavy hand of the OCR bureaucrats. Thank you for your consideration. Dale Anderson Editor's Note: Dale Anderson is one of the nation's leading experts on Title IX and the law. His e-mail was sent this week to the Commission as part of the campaign to contact the Commission prior to its final hearing. Anderson suggests that individuals also start writing their local newspapers explaining how the quota under Title IX is much worse than the quota under affirmative action.