Letter to the Editor: Title IX a dilemma for teams like Somerset Berkley field hockey

Regarding the controversy surrounding Somerset-Berkley's inclusion of boys on the girls' field hockey team, we have what can quite accurately be labeled a "dilemma."

Title IX ("No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance"), a federal civil rights law passed in 1972, opened the floodgates, rightfully so, for women's opportunities in school sports.

An unfortunate side effect of this law, in my opinion, is that it also gave boys an opportunity to play on what had traditionally been considered girls' sports teams. Because of Title IX, if a school does not offer separate girls' AND boys' field hockey teams, there is no "girls' field hockey team"; there is only "the field hockey team," open to qualified players of either gender. Likewise, there is no "boys' football team" unless there is also a "girls' football team." In the absence of the latter, the team must give both genders equal opportunity to make the team.

For reasons of fair competition and, perhaps more so, safety, I personally am not in favor of boys playing on what have traditionally been girls' sports teams. However, because of Title IX, they (the boys) have every right to do so.

A dilemma.

Michael J. Clarke

Tiverton