Don’t get me wrong. I am in no way discounting the progress we’ve made with regard to equality in sports, education, or civil rights. But it seems to me that for every three steps forward, we take one step back.
For example, in 1999, the U.S. Women’s Soccer team was nationally celebrated for winning the World Cup. Nearly a decade later in 2008, St. Mary’s Academy in Topeka, Kansas forbade referee Michelle Campbell from presiding over a boy’s basketball game. Their rationale was that it's against the school's belief system for women to have a position of authority over boys.
Even though St.Mary's is a private school, they still have to comply with Title IX if they receive any federal finance funding. Most private schools receive some federal finance funding. Even though Ms. Cambell could be considered contract labor, it would be interesting to challege this as a Title IX non-compliance issue.
What I find most appalling about this is the message it sends to the young men at St. Mary's Academy. That being, females should not have authority over males. They are being taught to disregard the authority of their mothers, future employers, college professors, and (maybe one day) even their college coaches, based solely on the fact that they are women. How many St. Mary's graduates are going to pass these ideals on to their sons and grandsons? Like I said, three steps forward and one step back.
S. Stallmo
Kin 338, Section 07 (6388)
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