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Sidelined: Title IX Retaliation Cases and Women's Leadership in College Athletics

By Erin Buzuvis, Sudha Setty, and Kristine Newhall

My own article by that title was recently published in the current issue of the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy (.pdf). In it, I examine the retaliation cases at Fresno State, FGCU, Berkeley, Montana State, Feather River College and others. I argue that:

The current spate of retaliation cases is... a relevant source of information about an important social problem [that of obstacles to women's leadership in college athletics]. Moreover, the fact that plaintiffs in Title IX retaliation cases against college athletic departments are enjoying new levels of success provides an opportunity to speculate optimistically about the power of law to effect positive change in the culture of college athletics. Following the Supreme Court?s recent validation of a private right of action to challenge retaliation in Jackson, coaches and athletic administrators have never before had more legal remedies with which to tackle sex discrimination in college athletics. Together with the recent high-profile multi-million dollar jury verdicts and settlements, these legal remedies create a strong incentive for athletic departments seeking to avoid liability to monitor for and address institutional practices that drive and deter women from coaching.

Citation: Erin E. Buzuvis, Sidelined: Title IX Retaliation Cases and Women's Leadership in College Athletics, 17 Duke J. Gender Law & Pol'y 1 (2010).

Full post as published by Title IX Blog on June 30, 2010 (boomark / email).