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Selected Works of Adam Epstein
Article
Sarah and Sam Make Contact Thoughts on the Contact Sports Exception and Title IX at 50
Marquette Sports Law Review (2022)
  • Adam Epstein
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Abstract
The article explores the contact sports exception to Title IX and whether it serves a legitimate purpose today, fifty years after the enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. The article recognizes significant achievements for women and girls in the sport of tackle football to include the achievements of Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller in 2020 and the talented exploits of youth football player Sam Gordon in 2012. However, the article also stresses the importance of acknowledging those who came well before Sarah and Sam. Indeed, those women did not have the benefit of instantaneous social media to discuss the merits of their efforts and spread the word of their achievement. This includes other kickers such as the legal battle involving Duke’s Heather Sue Mercer and the efforts of Katie Hnida at Colorado and New Mexico to fight for their right to be treated no differently than the men. Today, there is little discussion on the contact sports exception itself and the national discourse has turned to gender identity and transgender participation including swimmer Lia Thomas. Despite the lack of conversation over the contact sports exception, interest in girls’ wrestling has blossomed, many schools are offering separate teams, and some states are now offering girls’ championships.  The article presents previous academic discourse on both sides of the argument whether the contact sports exception still serves its purpose, and it concludes that the contact sports exception is sometimes ambiguous (as in whether field hockey is a contact sport), is outdated, and sends the message of “you can’t” rather than “you can.”
Keywords
  • Title IX,
  • contact sports exception,
  • Sarah Fuller,
  • Sam Gordon,
  • Katie Hnida,
  • Heather Sue Mercer,
  • kickers,
  • field hockey,
  • wrestling,
  • Heaven Fitch,
  • sex,
  • gender identity,
  • transgender,
  • Lia Thomas
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall December 31, 2022
Citation Information
Adam Epstein. "Sarah and Sam Make Contact Thoughts on the Contact Sports Exception and Title IX at 50" Marquette Sports Law Review Vol. 33 Iss. 1 (2022) p. 173 - 193
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/adam_epstein/63/