Title IX, Women’s Sports, and the Promise of Fairness

Before Title IX, meant girls and women could no longer be treated as an afterthought.

That matters because sports are about far more than winning games.

Sports teach discipline, leadership, teamwork, commitment, resilience, and courage. They teach young people how to work through pressure, handle disappointment, respect others, and keep going when things become difficult. For many girls, sports become a place where confidence is built and character is strengthened.

I understand that personally.

I was an child with dreams before Title IX had fully opened doors for women, and I was also an athlete after its impact began to be felt. I know what sports can give a young woman. I also know what serious competition requires.

The women who helped make Title IX possible were not simply asking for better uniforms or more convenient practice times. They were asking for fairness, opportunity, and for girls and women to be taken seriously.

Women such as Bernice “Bunny” Sandler,

Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink,

Martha Griffiths,

Billie Jean King,

Donna Lopiano, and many others helped push this movement forward. Some worked through Congress. Some filed complaints. Some testified. Some used their public voices to show the country that women’s sports deserved respect.

Their work helped open doors for millions of girls and women.

Because of Title IX, more girls had the chance to play. More women earned athletic scholarships and I earned an athletic scholarship because of Title 9. More female athletes became leaders, coaches, professionals, Olympians, and role models. The impact reached far beyond the scoreboard.

But fairness must remain at the heart of the conversation.

Women’s sports exist because there are real physical differences between male and female athletes. That is not an insult. It is not a political statement. It is one of the reasons separate women’s athletic categories were created and protected in the first place.

A fair playing field allows athletes to compete based on skill, training, dedication, and effort. Without fairness, competition begins to lose its meaning.

This is not about disrespecting anyone.

It is about protecting the purpose of women’s sports and honoring the promise of Title IX.

What is happening now in California with CIF should concern anyone who cares about the future of women’s sports. CIF is trying to follow California law, but the result has created a serious conflict between gender identity policies and the original purpose of Title IX.

Girls should not need a backup rule to protect the opportunities Title IX was meant to guarantee in the first place.

That concern became very real when the California Interscholastic Federation announced a pilot entry process for the 2025 State Track and Field Championships. Under that process, a biological female athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark, but did not qualify because of the placement of a transgender athlete, was given an opportunity to participate and now a transgender high school athlete AB Hernandez recently competed in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls track and field preliminaries in California, where she placed first in the triple jump, first in the long jump, and tied for first in the high jump. Her wins have drawn statewide and national attention, becoming part of the larger debate over fairness, inclusion, and the future of girls’ sports in California. CIF stated that it was trying to provide student-athletes with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law. This is wrong!

To me, that raises an important question.

If additional rules have to be created so girls are not displaced, then are we still protecting the original purpose of women’s sports?

That is not a small question.

It goes directly to the heart of Title IX.

This is why women and girls must be allowed to speak openly.

Female athletes should not be dismissed when they raise concerns about fairness. They should not be talked down to when they speak about safety. They should not be told they are not strong enough, brave enough, or competitive enough simply because they believe women’s sports should remain fair for women.

A woman can be strong and still ask for fairness.

A woman can be courageous and still recognize physical reality.

A woman can respect others and still believe women’s sports deserve protection.

For me, this issue comes back to integrity.

If we believe in fairness, then we have to be willing to protect it. If we believe in courage, then we have to let women speak honestly. If we believe in respect, then that respect must include the girls and women who worked so hard to earn their place in sports.

Title IX was one of the most important steps forward for women in American athletics.

Its promise was simple: girls and women deserve a fair opportunity.

That promise still matters.

Women’s sports were created for a reason.

They still matter.

And the girls coming up behind us deserve the same fair chance that so many women fought to make possible.