In his latest column on the sports blog www.askcoachwolff.com, “Through Sports, Title IX Helps Influence Children’s Early Perceptions of Gender Equity As a Virtue,” Professor Doug Abrams writes that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 encourages development of positive attitudes about gender equity by enabling girls and boys to cooperate and respect one another in sports programs.

Professor Abrams writes, “When sports dismantles a discriminatory barrier, the powerful example can hasten the barrier’s dismantling in other areas of American life. Beginning in 1947, for example, Jackie Robinson’s dignity and poise on and off the baseball field helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Movement a few years later. As Title IX continues to dismantle gender discrimination in sports beginning at the youngest age levels, the landmark congressional mandate influences the attitudes of girls and boys about gender roles in the greater society.”