CHICAGO – It’s one of the greatest moments in the history of women’s athletics in the history of the United States, and its 50th anniversary was this past week.
Title IX was passed on June 23, 1972, banning sex discrimination in educational programs that are federally funded. The 37 words that made it up would open up doors for women to participate in sports at the high school and college level, helping to level the playing field in athletics for the next five decades.
It’s something Melissa Isaacson knows all about, having played on Niles West High School’s 1979 state champion girls basketball team not long after the passage of Title IX. She even wrote a book on it called “State: A Team, a Triumph, a Transformation” back in 2019, which you can learn about by clicking here.
While celebrating the passage of the groundbreaking law this week, there also comes the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court on Friday, just a day after the Title IX anniversary.
Isaacson, a former Chicago Tribune sports reporter and current assistant professor at Medill School at Northwestern University, took some time to discuss the anniversary on this edition of WGN News Now Sports Talk.
She discussed what Title IX meant to her along with its impact on sports in general while also giving her thoughts on what still needs to improve in efforts for equality in sports. Isaacson also discussed balancing the anniversary with the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade that was rendered on Friday.
You can watch Melissa’s interview with Larry Hawley in the video above.
You can see more on Isaacson’s work on her website by clicking here.
Follow Melissa on Twitter by clicking here.