STRIKE IX tells the plight of the 1999 Providence College Friars baseball team and their beloved sport, which they learned would be eliminated at the end of that upcoming season in order for the school to comply with the federal regulation, Title IX. Written to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of PC’s historic season, this book was the result of speaking with a majority of the players on that team, and tells the personal ordeal that these Providence College athletes went through on the field and off the field when they learned that their sport had been cut. They collectively put aside all their emotions and anger and went out and had the best season in the 80-year history of the school’s baseball program, winning the Big East Championship and getting into the NCAA Division I Tournament with a lot more to prove. This is a sports story, but it is also an inspirational story about team work and achieving something when everyone else writes you off.

For further information, please visit the book publisher’s website http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-5690-7

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100929/NEWS01/9290345/1086/School+board+rejects+Edgewood+parent-funded+baseball+team

“The recurring theme: Saying yes could leave Brevard open to potential lawsuits and financial liabilities when the district is already struggling with past and future budget cuts….

If we were talking only about sports and revenues, I would be with you 100%. But we are not.

Most sports do not make money, they cost money. The money comes from the school budget. With a small number of exceptions, the money to pay for the sports through the school budget comes, in part, from federal taxes. I do not oppose a policy that has a goal to spend money equal between males and females. If that had been the case before Title IX, then Title IX would not have been necessary.

There are many, many, many sports opportunities outside of schools. American Legion baseball, pee-wee football, club soccer, gymnastics, and tennis are all examples. There is no requirement for funding equality in those sports. If that is your proposed solution for all sports-related issues — privatization — I am with you 100%.

The point of Title IX is that schools (high school and college) were spending money on sports predominantly for males and the facilities for males were better and males received priority on things like practice time.

The problem is that the male dominated sport of football got scores of participants. Consequently, to even out the numbers, the girls would either need a sport that had scores of participants OR more sports teams. Since there is no girls sport that has the participants like football, they got more teams.

As a result, schools had to make a choice: curtail football or curtail other teams. Schools have generally chosen to keep football, so other mens’ sports get the short end of the stick.

IMHO, the answer is not to attack Title IX. The answer is to reduce team sizes to sane numbers, say 30, and then those other mens’ teams will blossom.

The kicker is college football at the highest level. That is where the money is. It seems to me that those teams can be large AND support other sports, too.

Or let’s just tell the parents sure…donate all the money you want. But we will take it and put it into a community pot at dole it out to all the sports equally. Sure you cam have a baseball team…it’ll cost 200k a year sine you also have to buy softball, volleyball, gymnastics, 2 soccer teams, track and cross country, swimming and diving. Yeah…that would be a policy that would guarantee great outcomes. Sheese…..

If I want to spend it sponsoring only

Ah! One of the issues raised against this type of sponsoring was that it would be “unfair” as students with affluent parents would have an advantage over kids from “economically disadvantaged” parents.

I am sure that someone would launch a lawsuit against that as well.

But that’s really not the issue. The issue is that you can’t have external groups setting school policy and deciding which kids get to play sports. Say the school district cancelled all sports, and simply let the external boosters pay for what they wanted to see. Would it be OK for these external groups to only sponsor boy’s sports? No.

Each post of the cordon blocking the stands should bear a sign indicating “Closed per court order obtained by (parents&law firm names)”, preferably with the parent’s pictures and the firm’s logo. The game schedules should be printed with spots for night games labeled “Cancelled per…. (Parents/Firm)” Let them get the publicity they desired until they fear to shop locally and feel the need to move to avoid the hostility of the neighbors. Eventually, new idiots and their lawyers might think twice about when to sue.