Breaking Barriers

You may not have heard, but recently Danica Patrick won the Pole for Daytona 500.She became the first woman to secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR for the Daytona 500 (2nd in the sport). This has given NASCAR major publicity and open the doors for future female athletes to change the face of NASCAR and any other sport they would like to pursue.

After I heard this news I went and explored women in sports, and found an interesting piece of history. 

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…”

https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org

Even though Title IX hasn’t abolished discrimination of women in sports it has helped improve the state of where high school and collegiate women athletics are currently at. It has given more scholarships toward the sports, helped keep employment of female coaches, gave us great athletes of today and significant moments in sports.

Brittney Griner, Mia Hamm, Serena Williams and many other women may not have been given their chance to make significant marks in their sports, if these laws were not in affect. The next great female athlete, or the student in high school that just enjoys the game, has the opportunity to play.

We just celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the laws in 2012, and it will continue to be celebrated for bringing equal opportunity to females in sports.