Rosie Pudish, NY

One night after my daughter held a team basketball dinner, we went to a boys’ game at the school. It’s always a real show going to the game, watching the cheerleaders, dance teams, crowds, and the screaming and yelling of the fans. One of her friends, a 14 year-old, turned to me and asked, “Why don’t they do this for us?”

I wanted to know why there were so many things the girls weren’t getting that the boys got. I asked the Athletic Director (AD) why we didn’t charge the $2 admission at the girls’ games. He told me that there weren’t enough spectators to justify manning an admissions table. In other words, the girls weren’t worth it. This made me angry and it made me want to do something about it.

I figured out that the people who attend the boys’ games are primarily parents of the players, cheerleaders, dance team members and some fans. I figured out that the cheerleaders brought in more attendance, admissions fees, concession stands and the publicity would follow. I did some research on girls’ sports and found that under Title IX, if a school provides cheerleading for the boys and not for the girls, it’s sex discrimination. I contacted the local TV stations and wrote a guest viewpoint in the newspaper. No one wanted to cover this issue. I went onto the Women’s Sports Foundation website (WSF) and followed their Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity. First you try to work things out with your school. I went to the AD and sent a letter to the superintendent and school board. They didn’t respond to the issues. The school’s lawyers told me the decision regarding cheerleading was based on attendance not on sex, but I knew they were wrong. I contacted the WSF’s Advocacy Department, which encouraged me to contact my state Title IX Coordinator. I guess my efforts worked a little because at the girls' first home basketball game, the AD himself was at the door collecting admission. This was a start, but, they wouldn’t do anything about the cheerleaders or publicity and they insisted they were in compliance with Title IX. So, I filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Actually I filed 20 complaints – one for each of the schools in our league. I thought I might as well solve the problem at all the schools at once, rather than one at a time.

In the summer of 2006, the OCR contacted 17 of the schools and all hell broke loose. The ADs went nuts. It seems that I had rattled the "Old boys’" network and they didn’t like that. They argued that the girl players and coaches didn’t want cheerleaders and the cheerleaders didn’t want to cheer for girls. Lots of people wanted to know why I was making such a fuss when my own daughters didn’t care. A few women and basketball coaches were supportive as were some of the female students.

Because the OCR stepped in, this year 15 schools have added cheerleading at the girls’ games! Attendance is up and you don’t hear complaining about the cheerleading It’s been a hard fight and I’ve taken a lot of abuse. But, I wasn’t doing this just for my kid. I was doing it for that 14-year old girl who asked why and because it’s wrong. For 35 years it’s been wrong.

Now some of the basketball coaches tell me that their attendance is up and they’re not complaining about the cheerleading.