A Connecticut judge ruled last week that cheerleading is not a sport, a decision that delighted many who are of the opinion that cheerleading is not a sport.
Before these cheerleader-phobes celebrate too much, however, they might want to understand U.S. District Judge Steven Underhill’s reasoning for his decision.
Underhill ruled that competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements under Title IX, the 1970s law that requires publicly-funded schools to have an equal number of men’s and women’s athletic teams.
Underhill’s decision, which came after members of Quinnipiac’s volleyball team sued the school for its decision to eliminate volleyball and replace it with cheerleading, will ultimately strengthen both women’s sports and cheerleading in the United States.
Underhill ruled that cheerleading cannot be considered a sport under Title IX because it is not well-organized, meaning that cheerleaders are not as protected as more organized sports such as volleyball or swimming.
Currently, two national sports marketing companies govern cheerleading, co-sponsoring cheerleading’s two national championship competitions. Nationally recognized bodies not affiliated with sports marketing firms, however, govern other women’s sports.
Underhill’s ruling could pave the way for a stronger governing body that oversees cheerleading, which would eventually strengthen cheerleading and give it more legitimacy in a sports world where many still view cheerleaders as pom-pom waving athletic supporters and not athletes.
“Competitive cheer may, sometime in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX,” Underhill wrote in his decision. “Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine athletic participation opportunities for students.”
For now, Underhill’s ruling does not allow colleges to take away a viable women’s sport such as volleyball and say that cheerleading can replace that program. This benefits female athletes because they are not in danger of losing opportunities to an activity that is currently too underdeveloped to take the place of legitimate athletic competition.
Cheerleading will eventually benefit, however, if it can meet specific Title IX criteria such as having coaches, practices and competitions during a defined season and a governing organization. No one would deny that cheering requires many of the skills of recognized sports, from teamwork to agility to endurance, but it is now widely considered an activity that supports other athletic organizations. When a recognized governing body is eventually established and cheerleaders fall within the Title IX guidelines, it will then be considered a legitimate sport that naysayers can no longer devalue.
— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at 282-1535, Ext. 327, or nickc@journaltribune.com.
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