Democratic Women’s Caucus Letter Calls for Application of Title IX to Collegiate Athlete Pay
CONTACT:
Lizzie Johnson, (202)-590-6073, lizzie.johnson@mail.house.gov (DWC)
November 15, 2024
The Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC), led by DWC members Reps. Lori Trahan (MA-03), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), and Alma Adams (NC-12) sent a letter to United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona asking for clarity on how Title IX applies to collegiate athlete pay.
Specifically, the Members are inquiring as to how Title IX is being considered in preliminarily approved settlement agreements in House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA, which would for the first time, require the back-payment of damages to former athletes from lost revenue and set a clear path for schools to begin sharing their revenue with athletes through cash payments.
Currently, the distribution of funds in the settlement is incredibly lopsided. There is concern that the back-payment thresholds could be misinterpreted as being compliant with Title IX. The members wrote:
“We are deeply concerned that, if approved, the back-payment thresholds established in the settlement could be misinterpreted as compliant with Title IX or used as a justification to apply Title IX to athlete compensation going forward,” the letter states. “Clearly, the originally proposed breakdown that would result in less than 10% of damages going to women athletes is not equal to the rate paid to athletes of the opposite sex, and it makes gender-based distinctions in rates of pay which is in violation of the Title IX Regulations.”
The settlement also comes at a time when women’s sports are more popular than ever. The members continued:
“At a time when women’s sports are exploding in popularity, collegiate athletics should not take a step back by implementing a model that ignores the progress of women’s sports and eliminates the opportunity for women athletes to be compensated equally as required under Title IX,” the Members argued. “Quite simply, the acknowledgement that college athletes are deserving of compensation does not invalidate Title IX or allow it to take a backseat. In fact, it should be a lynchpin of the conversation.”
Read the full letter HERE.
Full List of Signatures: Representatives Lori Trahan, Mikie Sherrill, Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., Veronica Escobar, Lois Frankel, Jan Schakowsky, Debbie Dingell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Suzanne Bonamici, Jasmine Crockett, Lauren Underwood, Kathy E. Manning, Sylvia R. Garcia, Deborah K. Ross, Jennifer L. McClellan, LaMonica McIver, Ayanna Pressley, Mary Gay Scanlon, Angie Craig, Julia Brownley, Ann McLane Kuster, Marilyn Strickland, Jill Tokuda, Doris Matsui, Yvette D. Clarke, Chellie Pingree, and Nydia M. Velázquez.