For as long as I can remember I have been playing sports whether it was field hockey, basketball, or lacrosse. My teammates and coaches over the years have taught me valuable lessons that I will cherish throughout the rest of my life. Through these experiences sports became much more than a game, they helped me mature into the person I am today. Though, if it wasn't for a historic document, I may have not had the opportunity to learn and grow from these lessons. This document is known as Title IX. One of the great achievements of the women's movement was the enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. According to the U.S. Department of Education the law states: "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." Title IX addresses key areas including, "access to higher education, career education, employment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing, and technology" (Winslow). Furthermore, in todays society where sports have become the beating heart within our body, the law has been focused more in the area of athletics. However, despite where women were compared to now in the field of sports we have become too comfortable with the progress made and often mask the issue that Title IX still has ways to go.  

Over the past four decades' women have revolutionized their position within athletics. As stated by James Torr in his article "Title IX Is Necessary to Reduce Sexual Discrimination in Sports," "Prior to 1972, women and girls looking for opportunities for athletic competition were more likely to become cheerleaders or secure places in the bleachers as spectators," During that time period, just 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports; today, about two in five do, according to the Women's Sports Foundation (Charts). Title IX's enactment has changed the playing field significantly. Girls and women are now participating in spots at the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels in record numbers. The number of women playing at the college level has skyrocketed by more than 600 percent (Charts).

Getting in the Game is a book about Title IX and the women's sports revolution. In chapter 6, "Treatment as an Equal," Deborah Brake examines the highs and lows of Title IX and its placement of women on an equal playing field as their male peers. The development of Title IX's equal-treatment led to a series of factors (regulations) to ensure equal opportunity. During the growth of this policy, Title IX has escaped some of the problems the liberal feminist groups have approached. However, a challenge that is in constant review is not aimed towards equal treatment, but rather the strict requirements for proving intentional discrimination. It is hard for women to win a case in court due to lack of evidence of intent. Title IX has faltered when it has come to matching resources given to men yet it guarantees women an equal share of athletic scholarships. 

Sports has become a global empire over the years. It no longer is just continental it is a global power that connects almost everywhere in the world. Thanks to technology and trade, we are able to interact with other countries and get their point of view and experience their culture. As just mentioned due to technology, specifically social media, has changed the game both literally and figuratively. Social media is now a crucial part of sports today (Vann, 438). Portia Vann states, "the popularity of social media has particular implication for professional women's sports" (438). The perfect example of this is the lead-up to the 2013 ANZ Championship netball season, as examined by Vann in "Changing the Game: The Role of Social Media in Overcoming Old Media's Attention Deficit Toward Women's Sport." Netball in Australia is a ball sport similar to basketball and primarily played by women. Just behind soccer it has the second highest participation rate for an organized team sport (for both men and women) (438). One week before the opening match of 2013, there was yet to be an announcement for the competition. It was not until 3 days before the game that an announcement was made. Networks appeared reluctant to take on the ANZ Championship after Network Ten stated they did not see netball as a "premium and significant sport" (439). Networks are the glue that holds different elements of media together, creating a connection for fans to both each other and the athletes. Vann held studies that analyzed trends on Twitter and Facebook in relation to sporting events for women's and men's sports. In her journal she shows how much of an influence social media has on the game. She displays the effect is having on the fans and teams through her studies, however she does not state the side of the networks and their side of the argument. It was published just this past year in 2015. The timing of this is very important. It addresses some of the issues women's sports face from a lack of tradition broadcast coverage today all around the world.

As previously stated women have been discriminated against in sports throughout history and have not been given the same opportunities as men. This lack of provision has existed between men's and women's sports in areas such as, training facilities, proper salaries, media coverage and funding. In the article, "Women's Athletics a Battle for Respect," Jill Wrenn discusses the fight for respect in women's athletics on a daily basis. Jill has worked for the past fifteen years as a journalist of CNN and has worked on events such as the US election and Iraq War, as well as the 2012 London Olympics. Furthermore, in order to show the importance of this battle she looks into basketball star Lisa Leslie's career both on and off the court. Leslie states, "it's difficult to get corporate sponsors to really buy in and spend some of those corporate dollars on women's sports." She feels it is a constant battle and that she is more like an activist than a retiree. She emphasizes that basketball not only shaped her career but more importantly her character. She explains that playing in the WNBA is a progress, "I think we have a lot to show with the way we play ... how hard we play, how competitive we are, just to show that there is another avenue for girls ... " 

Generally, Americans of all ages tend to be dedicated more in men's sports due to the extensive history and drive of competition that connect them to these teams rather than women's. 

 The 2008 Beijing Olympics was the most watched television even in U.S. television history, and represented a broad expansion and emphasis on sports content. A study conducted by Tang Tang and Roger Cooper was set to examine audience's multiplatform experience with these games, particularly the interactions between and among gender groups, viewing the Olympics. The results show that men and women are significantly different in sports viewing and media, however they share similarities in trying to find Olympic content on various media programs. In the article it claimed that although Olympic telecasts provided more balanced coverage compared to other televised sports, male athletes and men's sports still received rawer exposure (Billings & Angelini, 2007; Bishop, 2003; Tuggle et al., 2002). Olympic broadcasts gave men's team sports significantly more coverage, but focused on the physically attractive or socially acceptable women's individual sports. In addition, gender biases existed within sportscasters' on-air dialogue (e.g., Billings et al., 2010; Eastman & Billings, 1999). Both male and female athletes were portrayed in traditional or even stereotypical ways. For example, compared to their counterparts, male athletes were more likely to be characterized as courageous, strong, and independent, while female athletes were more likely to be described based on their physical attractiveness and sexuality (Billings & Angelini, 2007; Eastman & Billings, 1999; Hardin, Lynn, & Walsdorf, 2005). 

An example of this would be the promotional awareness organization #CovertheAthlete. The Huffington Post UK's writer Rachel Moss covered this story in 2015. She displayed that the organization created a video to show a world in which male athletes receive the same absurd interview questions and coverage as female athletes. The video shows the absurdity of some of the questions female athletes are asked about such as, hair, weight, fashion, and figure. Questions should be focused on talent, training, and athletics, regardless of their gender. Hence the name: CovertheAthlete. 

In relation to coverage, Billie Jean King single handedly helped place women's sports on the map. In her TedTalk with moderator Pat Mitchell, she discusses her success on and off the tennis court and how she changed the way women were/are viewed in sports today. She first made a huge statement when she challenged former number one player, Bobby Riggs to a match. She knew it was about social changed and the fate of the world of women's sports was on her back. She thought, "if I lose, its going to put women back 50 years, at least." Title IX had just been passed the year before, on June 23, 1972, and conditions were still not ideal. "But we knew it wasn't really about our generation so much; we knew it was about the future generations," stated King. She went on to explain that you can have a law, but without the heart and mind to match up with it, it becomes somewhat irrelevant. She didn't set out to change laws or policies, she wanted to start the change in the hearts and minds of all people and athletes. King is extremely credible for this topic because she not only advocates for change but she has lived through it. She helped paved the way for women all over the world. 

Billie Jean King early in the same interview stated that she admired Bobby Riggs (the former number one player in Tennis and her opponent). She felt it was necessary to include this personal fact because she wanted to show that even though she wanted to make a statement and beat him with this competition, she also respected him as an athlete and as a person. In relation to this, "How Universities Can Comply with Title IX without Eliminating Men's Collegiate Athletics Programs," written by Patrick J. McAndrews, discusses the solutions of Title IX in giving equal opportunity to women in college athletics without the elimination of men's sports. It focuses on the three-pronged test of compliance which are as follows, "the substantially proportionality test," "expansion program test" and "interest and abilities accommodation test." A proactive solution it suggests is one in which colleges and universities should focus on are roster management, effective surveys, and comprehensive plans to comply with Title IX without further destroying men's collegiate athletics. Not only are women being affected daily by this, but now men are coming forth and taking a stand. The point of this document was not to further the gap between men and women, but to merge them closer together. To be equal to your opponent, you must first respect your opponent. 

That being said, women are being significantly more affected today. It's important to look back in history to examine women's roles and how they have changed. The academic journal "Young Women, Sports, and Science" examines women's access to sport and science, two traditionally male domains. Dr. Sandra L. Hanson, author of this piece, shows this through two different perspectives, one being the structural approach and the other being the critical approach. The structural approach proposes that sport and science are classified by gender and have historically been controversial areas for women (i.e. "women who entered sports were stigmatized as tough and aggressive" (Hanson, 159)). The critical approach states that structure of gender roles is important in understanding inequality. Information from the Nations Representative High School and Beyond (HSB) and National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) were used to examine the relationship between sports and success in science for high school aged women. Findings suggest that a unique resource is provided to young women through sports and science. Increased numbers of women athletes have positively influenced sports by implementing social norms of cooperation, participation, and self-actualization (159). However, despite these advances women still face challenges. Hanson later states, "in the world of sports they encounter networks that are larger, less intimate, and more likely based on achievement that are typical female networks" (156). Even though it gives them the opportunity to be exposed to a larger network, this shows that women still don't have the equal share of coverage. Furthermore, Title IX has not been successful against all the challenges women face in sports and differences in media coverage of women's and men's sports displays the lower rank of female athletes (156). It is important to stop this inequality and gender barriers early in stages of development such as high school. Dr. Hanson's research throughout her career examines the gender structure of educational and occupational systems. She has written books such as, The American Dream in the 21st Century and Swimming Against the Tide: African America Girls in Science Education to display experiences of girls in the area of education. Having this journal written in 2007 shows that not too long ago this issue was still very relevant and being talked about.

We live in a world were sports have become the heart of civilization. No matter where we are there is a game going on or a highlight reel playing on the television. It is a drive of competition and thrill that captures all of our attention. But if you break it down to the level of an individual there lies controversy. Men have played sports or a form of them for centuries, however women are just getting their balance when it comes to this topic. The perceptions of women create an inequality within athletics. On all levels from youth to professional we can examine the disadvantages as well as the advances we have created for women. The issues of respect, funding, Title IX, and globalization, all add to the discussion surrounding inequality and discrimination within athletics. There also a misconception about women in sports because people believe that they simply cannot handle the same level as men. I believe that no matter who you are, man or woman if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. A lot of the time people will make the argument that women are not physically strong enough to handle sports. While this may be true that there are differences among the anatomies of these two genders this does not mean women are incapable of competing at the same level. Title IX has come a long way since it was first enacted and has given women enormous opportunities to grow. However, the growth has not reached its full potential. We have gotten comfortable in our roles and seem to overlook the areas that are still issues when discussing women and equality. 

