A federal complaint was filed by thirty-two female athletes from the University of Oregon on Friday, accusing the institution of Title IX breaches in women’s sports, namely in the beach volleyball and club rowing teams.
The University of Oregon is accused of
“depriving them of equal treatment and benefits, equal athletic financial aid and equal opportunities to participate in violation of Title IX,” according to a 115-page lawsuit filed by 26 women’s beach volleyball players and 6 women’s club rowers. The lawsuit further claims that the university treats “its varsity male student-athletes shockingly better than its varsity female student-athletes.”
The lawsuit asserts that Oregon does not comply with the three “areas of compliance” under Title IX established by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education: equitable treatment and benefits, equitable financial aid for athletics, and appropriate accommodation of students’ athletic interests and abilities.
In a statement, the University of Oregon stated that it is “committed to providing a quality, positive experience for all our student-athletes,” which includes “academic support, tutoring, student-athlete development, medical care, mental health support, meals and snacks, and nutrition and sports training.” The university stated that it believes it complies with Title IX.
The ladies claim that although men’s teams in Oregon get “incredibly exorbitant” advantages and treatment, women’s teams are not given equitable “treatment and benefit”. Though they accounted for almost 49% of Oregon’s student-athletes in the 2021–2022 academic year, women received just 25% of the school’s yearly sports budget.University of Oregon
The complaint also claims that Oregon offers “superior” facilities and equipment to its men’s teams, including “high-quality gear that fits well, is personalized and tailored to the athlete and is sport-appropriate,” in addition to an endless supply of supplementary gear and personalized fittings.
On the other hand, the lawsuit claims that the women’s beach volleyball team only gets one “gear drop” at the start of the season, which includes worn-out and ill-fitting outfits. Players are compelled to borrow equipment from other teams or make their own purchases when the team’s drop is insufficient for the season. The men’s basketball and football teams get to retain their equipment; the materials have to be returned at the conclusion of the season, as per the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also cites the women’s facilities as “vastly inferior,” citing the lack of a practice and competition court for the women’s beach volleyball team as well as a comparison of men’s stadiums and locker rooms.University of Oregon
Rather, the complaint claims that during practices at a nearby public park, the women’s beach volleyball team rakes the sand to remove drug paraphernalia and animal excrement. According to the complaint, the restroom facilities at the park lack doors to deter drug users and squatters.
The complaint claims that the squad was unable to practice at the public court on Wednesday “because, sadly and disturbingly, a deceased person was discovered near Amazon Park.”
The action claims that the University fails to offer the women’s beach volleyball team with a demanding schedule that includes plenty of competition against other Division I teams and that time spent training or practicing in shared facilities must be organized around the men’s teams.University of Oregon
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that for the five most recent academic years, the institution gave $4.5 million in “amounts proportional to those awarded to Oregon’s male student-athletes” in sports financial assistance, so giving male student-athletes more than female student-athletes.
For almost 50 years, Title IX has governed legal matters. The women’s primary attorney, Arthur H. Bryant of Bailey & Glasser, said in a statement that Oregon must abide by it immediately and that the lawsuit was prompted by an Oregonian investigation published in July that, according to Bryant, exposed “blatant sex discrimination.”University of Oregon
According to The Oregonian, the study revealed that, regardless of sport or gender, the women’s beach volleyball team at Oregon was the only team at a Power Five public institution to be denied scholarship support in 2021–2022.
According to a statement, the institution has “previously committed to increasing scholarships and to building a beach volleyball facility on campus at a site identified via the Campus Planning process.”University of Oregon
Female athletes at Oregon do not require much food or water, clean or well-fitting clothes or uniforms, scholarships, medical care or mental health services, their own facilities, a locker room, adequate transportation, or other basic necessities, based on how the beach volleyball team has been treated. Ashley Schroeder, the captain of the women’s beach volleyball team and the primary complainant, claimed in a statement that “male athletes are treated incredibly better in almost every respect.”
The ladies are requesting an injunction that prevents Oregon from discriminating against its current female varsity student-athletes “on the basis of their sex” and an order declaring that the institution is discriminating against them.
Source: NBC NEWS
