Title IX

June 23 marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal legislation mandating equal opportunities for men’s and women’s participation in education, including sports. The very next day, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down another 50-year-old decision — Roe v. Wade — thus denying women and girls protected by Title IX their bodily autonomy to choose when or whether to bear children. Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX gave women the opportunities to get scholarships to play sports in college without being saddled with massive student loan debt.