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Pass Her the Ball
by Congressman Martin Meehan

Published in the Eagle Tribune on August 1, 1999
and the Andover Townsman and Nashoba Publications on August 5, 1999

As the shot clock was winding down, the temperature in the high school gymnasium was heating up. Locked in battle with the nine-time defending Massachusetts state semifinals winner, the Lee High Wildcats, the Bromfield girls basketball team from the small town of Harvard looked to its anchor, Julia Swenson. Taking the game into her own hands, the gutsy point guard smartly dribbled precious seconds off the shot clock and buried a 3-pointer from the right wing, sealing Bromfield's victory.

Because of the courageous play of Swenson and her teammates, Bromfield vaulted into the girls' Division 3 state championship game for the first time in school history. Swenson's confidence on that March night was representative of a new generation of girls -- athletes who yell, "pass me the ball!" with the clock running down and the game on line, and take the last shot.

Before Julia Swenson's time, however, past generations of young female athletes and leaders were stifled by the cultural limitations that discouraged young girls from participating in team sports. I cannot help but believe that the explosive success of the US Women's World Cup team will lead even more young girls in Massachusetts, and across the country, to broaden their own ambitions and dream about one day achieving similar levels of success.

Indeed, members of the US National Soccer Team -- elite athletes who are also mothers, college graduates and women pursuing successful careers -- captured the hearts of all Americans over the past month in a way that few teams of either gender ever have. "Wow, that Mom rocks," shouted one father, as he watched Joy Fawcett, mother of two, head in the game winning goal during the U.S. quarterfinal victory over Germany no doubt the first time that exclamation has ever been heard at the Washington Redskins' Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

As gender stereotypes and barriers continue to crumble, thanks in large part to shots like Fawcett's and critical saves like those made by the University of Massachusetts' own Briana Scurry, athletic glory is no longer the exclusive domain of boys' dreams. Brandi Chastain's game-winning penalty kick the World Cup finals joins such singular moments as Carlton Fisk's home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series and Doug Flutie's 1984 "Miracle in Miami" in the annals of sports.

These women have enlightened us to a reality that has never been acknowledged enough: athleticism knows no gender boundaries. Today, strength and toughness in the mind, spirit and body are qualities that are finally revered in both sexes. The US Women's victory sends a powerful message to the world about the valuable role of sports in building character, self-confidence and teamwork among young women.

This success, and the surging popularity of all types of women's sports over the last two decades, is a tribute to Title IX, the landmark federal law that mandated equal opportunities for women athletes in high schools and colleges. Title IX turned 27 last Friday -- the same age as star soccer forward Mia Hamm -- and there couldn't be a more fitting celebration than a World Cup victory.

When President Nixon signed the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which authorized the Title IX program, about 300,000 American girls were participating in high school sports. Today, that number is nearly 2½ million. Two years after Title IX was enacted, an estimated 50,000 men, compared to roughly 50 women, attended U.S. colleges on athletic scholarships. Today, women receive about one-third of all college athletic scholarships, giving many women opportunities for higher education that they may not otherwise have been able to afford.

Some people may say Title IX has nothing to do with the success of the American women's World Cup team. However, as a result of this law, women and girls have more opportunities to participate in athletics and more equitable facilities. In addition, because of Title IX, the salaries for coaches on women's teams have increased.

Yet, the impact of gender equality in sports goes far beyond figures and numbers from playing fields, TV-ratings or ticket sales. Eighty percent of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies participated in sports growing up.

Moreover, extensive research has shown that young women who are active in sports are more likely to have greater confidence, higher levels of self-esteem, and more pride in their physical and social selves than girls who do not take part in athletics. Just as importantly, they are less likely to experiment with drugs, less likely to get pregnant, and more likely to graduate from high school. Girls and women are now learning what boys and men have always known -- that sports nurture pride, a sense of accomplishment, discipline and teamwork and a positive competitive spirit applicable to all areas of life.

This is why protecting Title IX is so important.

As a member of Congress, I benefit from these gains every day. Some of the most successful and hard-working women on my staff are the daughters of Title IX. These women -- an All-American lacrosse player from Bowdoin College, a full-scholarship volleyball standout from Georgetown University, and Varsity soccer player from Dartmouth College -- display key leadership and teamwork skills nurtured through their participation on collegiate teams.

It is unfortunate that any man would feel threatened by the growing popularity of women's team sports. Whether it be a WNBA game or the Women's World Cup finals, these men decry the "feminization of sports" and go to great lengths to point out that women are inferior to men in strength and speed. They then draw the conclusion that women just can't be as good at sports.

Would these men pit middleweight Sugar Ray Leonard in the boxing ring against heavyweight Muhammad Ali, who outweighed him by 60 pounds? Both men were great champions, but they deserved to fight different classes. Similarly, whether played above or below the rim, elite men and women's basketball games can and should be appreciated for their unique qualities and style.

Sports indeed is an important issue for women's equality -- like political participation and pay equity. They affect leadership development, and women's health, and the exclusion of women from team sports creates a false image of women as the weaker sex, which can lead to exploitation in other parts of life.

Fortunately, the recent successes of women on the playing field are a hint of what all American women can achieve in the new millennium. Each and every young girl who painted her face red, white, and blue and cheered in raucous celebration for the Women's World Cup victory now has an even greater chance to grow into a woman with unstoppable confidence and dreams, planning to make her mark in the 21st Century.