Long Fights for Sports Equity, Even With a Law

In 2008, the same federal agency, the Office for Civil Rights, came across evidence that Ball

Erik Holladay for The New York Times

The former Ball State coach Kathy Bull sued after the university lost a number of coaches from women's teams. Ball State was asked to investigate and reported “no evidence” of discrimination.

In 1998, the University of Southern California was accused of denying its female students a fair chance at participating in sports. Thirteen years later, the federal agency charged with investigating sex discrimination in schools has not completed its inquiry of U.S.C.

State University in Indiana was losing a disproportionate number of women’s coaches. But the agency opted to let Ball State investigate itself. After a two-week inquiry, during which Ball State failed to interview a single coach, the university concluded that there was no evidence that any of the coaches had been unfairly treated or let go.

The federal law known as Title IX — requiring schools at all levels across the country to offer girls and women equal access to athletics — has produced a wealth of progress since it was enacted almost four decades ago. Almost no one disputes that.

But scores of schools, year in and year out, still fail to abide by the law. For those schools, almost no one disputes this: There is little chance their shortcomings will ever be investigated, and even if they are, few will be meaningfully punished.

According to a review by The New York Times, the Office for Civil Rights allows cases of suspected discrimination to drag on for years, long after the affected athletes have graduated.

The office — whose staff of 600 full-time employees at its Washington headquarters and 12 regional offices must juggle a variety of cases, including those for disability, age and race discrimination — routinely asks schools to investigate themselves and to develop their own plans for fixing problems. Not surprisingly, the process can lead to further delays and little change.

The Office for Civil Rights certainly has the power to enforce the law: any school that is found to be violating Title IX risks losing its federal funds. But that punishment has never been used since Congress passed the law in 1972. And the office cannot cite any instance in which a case of suspected discrimination against female athletes was referred to the justice department for additional action. The situation has led many to ask how a federal law can be effective if it is not significantly enforced.

Russlynn Ali, leader of the civil rights office, acknowledged that discrimination endures and that enforcement has frequently been lax or delayed. “Some progress,” she said, “is not enough progress when it comes to ensuring that this country protects students from discrimination.”

Ali, who was appointed by President Obama in 2009, said her office had become more aggressive over the last two years, initiating more investigations and taking on some of the most successful athletic programs in the country. The office, for example, has recently opened investigations of Louisiana State University and Butler University, whose men’s basketball team has reached the national title game the last two years.

She said “institutions that folks may have perceived as being off-limits” would be looked at and held accountable. “Nobody gets a free pass,” she said.

Janet Judge, a lawyer who advises universities that are involved in Title IX investigations, said she had noticed a difference since Ali’s arrival. “Enforcement is at the highest level I’ve seen in my almost 20 years of Title IX practice,” she said.

But it is clear that creating confidence in a new era of aggressive enforcement will take work.

“Unfortunately what we see is that many schools are getting away with providing fewer opportunities to girls because they don’t do what they’re supposed to unless made to,” said Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center.

Current and former enforcement officials insist they have worked hard to mount meaningful investigations, and they defended the policy of allowing schools to investigate themselves. Most schools, they said, want to correct their problems once they learn they are violating the law