sports on . . . feminine characteristics . . . rather than athletic skills." Feminist Carol McKinnon explained the aversion of many women to participating in athletics at college and professional levels as follows: "the pervasive message that they are physically incapable negates the desire to be involved." Those women who do become involved at the college level have very limited post-graduate opportunities to compete. As they pursue other careers which are open to them, they tend to be less than fully supportive of the efforts of women athletes. Bill Byrne, sports entrepreneur, who has tried unsuccessfully to start a womens professional basketball league, says that women corporate executives have been reluctant to support women's athletics.
Progress Toward Equal Rights for Women in College Athletics
Since the early 1970s, significant progress has been made in the lowering the barriers to greater participation by women in college athletics, largely because of legal changes. Cheryl Miller, the star of an American gold medal winning Olympic basketball team said: "Without Title IX, I wouldn't be here." Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 provides that: "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." Prior to the enactment of Title IX, the principal legal weapon available to plaintiffs seeking relief from discrimination against women in college athletic programs was the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment applies only when state action deprives someone of their constitutional rights, making it an imperfect vehicle for attacking discrimination in private colleges and universities. A series of equal protection cases in the 1970s and early 1980s established the principle that public schools must permi...