Eli Ottinger

Prof. Fielding

WRTC 103

10/8/2017

Title IXs Harm to Women's Sports

Gender inequality has been an issue in society ever since humanity began. There has

been inequality in the workplace, household, and on the athletic field. On the athletic field

gender equality has been hard fought for and has made improvements due to Title IX. Title IX

has made it possible for college athletics to strive for equality in men's and women's sports.

Unfortunately, Linda Flanagan and Susan H. Greenberg disagree and collaborated the article

How Title IX Hurts Female Athletes in The Atlantic. In this article they stress the increased

risk of health, injury, and sexual abuse in womens college athletics.

In the article, How Title IX Hurts Female Athletes, Flanagan and Greenberg (2012)

argue that Title IX has affected female athletes in the wrong way when they said Title IX has

inflicted significant collateral damage, including increased health risks for the players, a drop in

the number of women coaches, and increased exposure to sexual abuse (Flanagan and

Greenberg 5). There are three claims that support this quote. The first claim is girls have a five

times more likely chance to tear their ACL (Qtd. in Levine 7). The second claim is girls can

develop eating disorders, bone loss, and the cessation of their menstrual cycles (Flanagan and

Greenberg 9). The third claim is For female players, the gravest consequence of having male

coaches has been an increased risk of sexual abuse (Flanagan and Greenberg 14). These claims

support that Title IX indeed causes harm to women athletes. The audience Flanagan and

Greenberg is targeting is young girl athletes and individuals who care about the effects sports has
on a girl. Flanagan and Greenberg use a conversational writing style because they target an

audience and their writing is informal. They format this article in topical order because there is

no main structure. The article is in this order because there are many different claims in which

the order is irrelevant. This article emphasizes the damage athletics can put on young female

athletes because of Title IX.

Flanagan and Greenberg understand that Title IX has done many wonders for women's

college athletics. As they look deeper into Title IX they find that it also has a damaging side.

They represent their view through the appeal ethos when they say But this welcome

transformation has come at a serious cost for many female athletes (Flanagan and Greenberg 5).

They realize that Title IX is good, but understand that it comes at a cost for women. There are

no credentials that these writers hold about being an expert on this issue. These writers are

trustworthy because in their article they are genuine and concerned about this subject. They

seem to have put a ton of research into Title IX and they are convincing. Flanagan and

Greenbergs representation in this article is solely based around the negative side effect of Title

IX.

The only way to backup an opinion is through facts about the subject. Flanagan and

Greenberg have done their research and have plenty of supporting evidence on their claims.

They claimed women have higher risk for an A.C.L. injury than men. They support this claim

when they used logos citing a quote from Dr. William Levine saying Female athletes jump and

land in a more erect posture, which puts increased stress on their A.C.L (Qtd. in Levine 8).

This proves their is an increased risk for women athletes and ligament tears because of the

posture a women has. The increased stress that a college athlete has because of the work load

and shape they have to be in is unhealthy. This can lead to girls not thinking they are good
enough or have the right body type for a sport. The American Academy of Family Physicians

and the American College of Sports Medicine support this claim when they say fifteen to 62

percent of college female athletes report a history of disordered eating (Qtd in The American

Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Sports Medicine 9). These

disorders can be as bad as bulimia or lack of eating. With all the work load a college athlete

intakes these disorders are extremely unhealthy. The final fact Flanagan and Greenberg

researched was about sexual abuse in women's college sports due to an increase in male coaches.

Sexual abuse in women's college sports is backed up when they assert Since 1999, 36 coaches

from the U.S. national swim teamincluding the former directorhave resigned or been banned

from the sport following allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate sexual behavior

(Flanagan and Greenberg 14). This fact is incredible. There is no reason why this should be an

issue and an increased risk for women's athletics. All of the facts that Flanagan and Greenberg

presented is why their article is full of logos and is the dominating appeal present.

There is an imminent emotional response in the harm Title IX puts on a female college

athlete. Flanagan and Greenberg show this emotional appeal through an interview with a Boston

College Lacrosse player, Sophia Gouraige. Her experience with college athletics was poor. She

thought going into a college sport that Lacrosse would be a fun experience. The opposite

experience occurred. When Sophia says "When you go to college, it's all about how to win the

national championship," says Gouraige, now 21. "Why can't sports just be fun?" (Qtd. in

Gouraige 26) she is talking about how college sports take the meaning out of the game. This

appeals to emotions because growing up sports are supposed to be fun, but with the overly

competitive athletes the fun is diminished. They appeal to your emotions through their sincere
and convincing tone. The presence of pathos in this article is slim but has a big impact when

present.

The increased risk of health, injury, and sexual abuse in womens college athletics is the

dominating focus of How Title IX Hurts Female Athletes. This issue is relevant now because

women's athletics are poisoned by the unfortunate occurrences and even though Title IX does

good their is a significant negative outcome. Gender in the article plays a huge role because

athletics affects female athletics way more than men's. It is unfair to woman that she has an

increased risk of injury or sexual abuse because of a sport. Flanagan and Greenberg should have

argued the inequality of mens and womens sports today to expand on the harm of Title IX and

how it still needs improvement. Title IX is a positive start to equalizing college sports, but the

negative side effects play a bigger role.

 Works Cited

Flanagan , Linda, and Susan H Greenberg. How Title IX Hurts Female Athletes. The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 27 Feb.2012,www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/

2012/02/how-title-ix-hurts-female-athletes/253525/.