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Women’s athletics panel issues formal opinion about use of male practice players
The NCAA News
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The NCAA News
The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has issued a position statement calling for a ban on the use of male practice players in women’s intercollegiate athletics. The statement comes after months of debate within the governance structure and elsewhere in the membership about whether the practice should be allowed to continue.
The CWA first raised the issue in October 2004 when members said the practice was contrary to the committee’s mission of providing opportunities for women in college sports. The committee has pushed since then to eliminate the practice.
The matter has been surveyed and debated in each division, but Division III is the only one to have legislation on the table at this year’s Convention. The proposal being considered does not eliminate the practice, but limits it to the traditional season and in only one practice per week. The proposal also would limit the number of male practice players in team sports to no more than half of the number required to field a starting women’s team (for example, only two male practice players would be permitted in a sport with five starting players).
The other two divisions are still gathering information and feedback on the matter.
The CWA statement says the use of male practice players “violates the spirit of gender equity and Title IX.” The committee believes “any inclusion of male practice players results in diminished participation opportunities for female student-athletes, contrary to the Association’s principles of gender equity, nondiscrimination, competitive equity and student-athlete well-being.”
The committee acknowledges the most common argument in favor of using male practice players is that it improves the skills of female student-athletes and strengthens the team as a whole. “While there is no way to measure the true validity of that argument,” the committee said, “if accepted, it still leads to the question — what cost in participation opportunities for women is the Association willing to pay for such improvement? The message to female student-athletes seems to be ‘you are not good enough to make our starters better, so we need to use men instead.’ ”
The CWA believes that approach implies “an archaic notion of male pre-eminence that continues to impede progress toward gender equity and inclusion.” Members see the increasing use of male practice players as a threat to the growth in female participation at all levels.
“To have talented, capable female student-athletes stand on the sidelines during official practice while the team’s starters practice against ‘more talented men’ is a lost opportunity,” the CWA states. “Many of these female student-athletes are on full scholarship and were recruited to participate in intercollegiate athletics at many other institutions. To have them sitting out of practice while a full ‘scout team’ of men come to practices is costing them the opportunity for growth and betterment that they were promised during recruitment.”
The CWA cited “tremendous growth and betterment in women’s intercollegiate athletics” over the years without the use of male practice players. Committee members say they believe of the use of male practice players does more harm than good in the long run and discriminates against female athletes.
“Since Title IX was enacted,” the committee states, “the coaching and administrative opportunities for females have been diminished greatly. In this same period, participation opportunities for female student-athletes have not only risen, but the quality of the experience has improved. The concern that CWA has is that the continued growth of male practice players will jeopardize the opportunities and quality experience available for female student-athletes.”
For the entire statement, see www.ncaa.org.
The CWA first raised the issue in October 2004 when members said the practice was contrary to the committee’s mission of providing opportunities for women in college sports. The committee has pushed since then to eliminate the practice.
The matter has been surveyed and debated in each division, but Division III is the only one to have legislation on the table at this year’s Convention. The proposal being considered does not eliminate the practice, but limits it to the traditional season and in only one practice per week. The proposal also would limit the number of male practice players in team sports to no more than half of the number required to field a starting women’s team (for example, only two male practice players would be permitted in a sport with five starting players).
The other two divisions are still gathering information and feedback on the matter.
The CWA statement says the use of male practice players “violates the spirit of gender equity and Title IX.” The committee believes “any inclusion of male practice players results in diminished participation opportunities for female student-athletes, contrary to the Association’s principles of gender equity, nondiscrimination, competitive equity and student-athlete well-being.”
The committee acknowledges the most common argument in favor of using male practice players is that it improves the skills of female student-athletes and strengthens the team as a whole. “While there is no way to measure the true validity of that argument,” the committee said, “if accepted, it still leads to the question — what cost in participation opportunities for women is the Association willing to pay for such improvement? The message to female student-athletes seems to be ‘you are not good enough to make our starters better, so we need to use men instead.’ ”
The CWA believes that approach implies “an archaic notion of male pre-eminence that continues to impede progress toward gender equity and inclusion.” Members see the increasing use of male practice players as a threat to the growth in female participation at all levels.
“To have talented, capable female student-athletes stand on the sidelines during official practice while the team’s starters practice against ‘more talented men’ is a lost opportunity,” the CWA states. “Many of these female student-athletes are on full scholarship and were recruited to participate in intercollegiate athletics at many other institutions. To have them sitting out of practice while a full ‘scout team’ of men come to practices is costing them the opportunity for growth and betterment that they were promised during recruitment.”
The CWA cited “tremendous growth and betterment in women’s intercollegiate athletics” over the years without the use of male practice players. Committee members say they believe of the use of male practice players does more harm than good in the long run and discriminates against female athletes.
“Since Title IX was enacted,” the committee states, “the coaching and administrative opportunities for females have been diminished greatly. In this same period, participation opportunities for female student-athletes have not only risen, but the quality of the experience has improved. The concern that CWA has is that the continued growth of male practice players will jeopardize the opportunities and quality experience available for female student-athletes.”
For the entire statement, see www.ncaa.org.
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