"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 ..."
Those words lead a section of federal law - 20 U.S.C. section 1681, to be exact - known in the sports world simply as Title IX.
Back in June, just two days before the 40th anniversary of the day this historic law was signed into being by President Richard Nixon, Mifflin County's own Jaynee Carolus was inducted into the District 6 Softball Hall of Fame.
At the time, her words painted a picture of why a law like this was needed - prior to Title IX, female athletes were at best second-class citizens compared to their male counterparts.
Title IX has been abused in the 40 years it has existed - ask anyone in wrestling - but every now and again you get a reminder of why we needed this law in the first place. And why we still need it today.
Tuesday brought forth just such an example.
Few games were played that day, in which most of the fields took a good soaking from rain that began Monday night. One of them was Mifflin County's trip to Cedar Cliff, where the girls from both schools played soccer on a grass field.
Here's the part where Title IX may come into play: The teams could have squared off on Cedar Cliff's artificial turf stadium field. But that field was reserved, I was told - for football practice. Not a game, practice.
Oh, and did I mention that the Colts also have a football practice field?
But it's a grass field (like the one the girls played soccer on). And apparently there was a fear that the football practice field might be torn up and damaged if it was used in the rain - a fear that apparently didn't apply to the girls soccer field (or, for that matter, to the girls soccer players, who unlike the football players were actually engaged in competition, and could have been torn up and damaged themselves).
Now, this may not be a Title IX violation in the purest sense - if the boys soccer team had been allowed to use the turf, but not the girls, then there would be a clear act of discrimination.
It may not even be the whole truth - this could be a tale embellished by a member of the Colts' program who has an ax to grind with the football team. And to be fair, there was no one on the stadium field when I drove by on the way to the soccer facility, although that doesn't mean the football team didn't use it later.
This one at least falls into the category of "appearance of impropriety," though. And reminds us that girls and boys are to be seen as equal when it comes to scholastic sports.
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The reason Cedar Cliff wanted to play Tuesday may prove to be an occasional issue for both Mifflin County and State College as they transition into the Mid-Penn Conference.
The two District 6 teams are in a classification that has only five schools, and thus a playoff tournament that likely will be finished in two days. District 3, on the other hand, has 43 girls soccer teams in Class AAA (and 45 boys teams), who play in a 20-team bracket that starts Oct. 20.
None of them wants the calendar to be packed with regular-season makeups going into the postseason, and available dates become slim as the season progresses.
The reason the boys game was moved is simple: The home team (in this case, Mifflin County) has the final say over whether its field is playable.
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Jeff Fishbein is sports editor of The Sentinel. Contact him at jfishbein@lewistownsentinel.com.
