Fantasia Goodwin is junior at the University of Syracuse and a starter for the varsity women’s basketball team. Fantasia finds herself in a precarious situation upon learning she is pregnant during the 2007 basketball season. Faced with many uncertainties, Fantasia encounters what is undoubtedly one of the biggest ethical dilemmas she has faced thus far in her life.
There are many layers to her dilemma and they all need to be carefully taken into consideration. In order to help Fantasia make an informed decision she must first identify all of the ethical issues surrounding her pregnancy and the cause-effect relationship they will certainly have. First and foremost if she remains silent and continues to play through the season she faces the consequences of potentially damaging her unborn baby to the extent of birth defects, injuring herself and/or miscarrying. On a tertiary level, Fantasia is also faced with the consequences that disclosing her pregnancy could bring, such as, losing her scholarship, losing her eligibility, losing her position on the team and/or being pressured to abort the baby.
Stakeholders in which Fantasia must take into consideration before making an informed decision include Fantasia. As the mother of the baby she is the primary stakeholder in this situation. The decision she makes could potentially have profound effects on the outcome of her future. The Syracuse department of athletics, teammates, the University of Syracuse and other Universities team members should be taken into consideration. Finally, regardless whether or not the father is involved in the decision making process, consideration of his thoughts and feelings must be given proper attention in this matter. Before a final decision ...
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...thletes that became pregnant. Syracuse University at the time did not have guidelines nor did they have their female athletes sign any formal documentation to the effect of mandatory disclosure or a promissory note indicating scholarship funding would be pulled as a result of pregnancy. However, also in 2007 a track and field star from Clemson University set the stage for many Universities to address and add provisions as it pertained to pregnancy. Clemson University did have their female athletes sign promissory notes indicating funding and eligibility would be suspended as a result of pregnancy. Upon learning that their track and field star was pregnant her scholarship funding ended immediately as did her place on the team. Interestingly enough, there are absolutely no guidelines for male athletes that are fathers and this disparity has yet to be addressed.
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
Schools must provide equal access to school for pregnant and parenting students and treat pregnancy like any other interim disability. Schools also must provide equal access to extracurricular activities for pregnant and parenting students. This means that a school may not a school cannot require a doctor’s note for a pregnant student to participate in activities unless the school requires a doctor’s note from all students who have conditions that require medical care. School must excuse absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as the the students doctor believes is medically necessary. School must also ensure that any separate programs or schools for pregnant and parenting students are spontaneous and offer opportunities equal to those offered for non-pregnant students. Title IX protects every person, boys and girls, men and women, and students and employees from sexual
Schools have to follow Title IX guidelines and make sure that the money spent for athletics is split 50/50 for men and women's sports. Even if there are not as many women competing as there are men. This results in significant budget cuts on the men's athletics. “They correctly note that despite the good intentions of Title IX, the legislation is often used not to augment athletic opportunities for women, but rather to eliminate athletic opportunities for male athletes.” (“Bad”). This was from a former University of Illinois swimmer, whose team got eliminated from the school due to Title IX budgetary reasons. (“Bad”). The school ran out of money for the men's swim team, so it got completely cut from the program and ruined his scholarship. Paul Mainieri, the LSU men's baseball coach said, “I don't know that I've ever had a player receive a scholarship in the amount which was commensurate to his value." (Keating). It is brutal that college sports have to be treated in such a way. Especially for such a big sport like baseball. Schools have to take the scholarship money that was handed to them, and just give it to some women for a sport that is not popular in the NCAA. For instance, a men's baseball team in the NCAA can only have their scholarship money split between 27 players, while on the other hand, women's ice hockey can be split between 30 players.
While no one can dispute the positive effects of the Title IX, there are those dissenting voices who still to this day feel that is unfair that the major revenue generating sports such as Men’s Football and Basketball pay the way for the non revenue sports such as the Women’s Athletics programs. The same could be said though for such non revenue men’s sports as well. Sports such as men’s golf, lacrosse, soccer, etc.
Since the 1972 conception of Title IX of the Education Amendments, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased five-fold, from fewer than 30,000, to more 150,000 in 2001. However, more than 400 men’s athletics teams have been dismantled since Title IX, the law forbidding sex discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds, became law. Some would say this is due, in part, to Title IX enforcement standards like proportionality. Proportionality requires that an institution’s athletic population must be of an equal ratio to its general student body. Among some of the 400-plus teams dismantled by Title IX are several former Colorado State University teams including wrestling, baseball, gymnastics, men’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. CSU student athletes no longer sport the opportunity of participating in these activities at the NCAA Division I level, and the days of the student body rooting for their ram teams are gone, possibly forever. Now the search is on to find a solution to the problems associated with Title IX if, indeed, a solution is ultimately necessary.
Eboni Logan is a 16 year old biracial African-American Caucasian. She recently discovered that she was pregnant and was seeking counseling from the school social worker. At this present time, Eboni is confused about her choices. Prior to this pregnancy, she was planning on attending college where she would pursue a degree in nursing. Eboni realizes that she must reassess her goals and possibly career choices.
...03). The whole IX yards: The impact of title IX: The good, the bad and the ugly. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 12(2), 27.
Title IX is composed of three separate components: I-Accommodation of Interests and Abilities; II-Athletic Financial Assistance: Schola...
In many schools, women who became pregnant were often relegated to "alternative" educational programs, the participation in which was mandatory. After Title IX, schools could no longer force the student to go to an alternative school, which often was substandard. These students could not be sin...
Every day, an overwhelming amount of human beings’ lives are terminated. The culprit: unwanted pregnancies. Many woman are (not by choice), becoming pregnant as a result of unsafe sex, rape, and other things. So what is one to do when they discover that they’re pregnant? They have some alternatives: (1) have the child and raise it (2) have the child, then give it up for adoption (3) get an abortion. Sadly, many women choose alternative three, unaware of what they’re getting themselves into.
Many people believe that College athletes have it easy, and who wouldn’t think that? A free education, free living; getting to travel and play the sport that many people would love to still be able to. Student athletes also get to pick classes earlier than a regular student and have the ability to be excused from classes to go to games and special events. The life of a student athlete sounds like an enticing thing for many people; especially those who are not student athletes on scholarships or walk-ons to a college team. The rising cost of attending college has made the younger athletic population work just as hard to receive a scholarship to play a sport, because they may come from poverty where they can’t otherwise afford to attend school, which is beneficial to them. Understand, that college is a place where academics comes first, and everything else is second; this includes athletics. But are these athletes treated fairly and given all the right things they need to succeed in life, let alone college?
she is able to be a mother.
Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered as murder. In some situations, the mother may require to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003). In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to having a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precaution to ensure avoiding conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her choice of abortion; it...
Gender inequality in the United States is a serious problem, and it is often overlooked. It is a big issue, especially within sports. We live in a society where our culture prefers men 's sports over women 's. Labeling activities as feminine and masculine is a social construction based on stereotyped expectations regarding gender and perceived gender differences (McCullick, 2012). In 1972 Title IX was passed stating that, 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. This opened up athletics to women and girls (Education Amendment Act of 1972, 1972). Although
Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that is continually on the forefront of debates. Those who oppose the idea (Pro-lifers), thinks it is an act of woman playing “God” who live from who dies. Yet, whether an unborn baby constitutes a normal person is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. Therefore, the decision to have an abortion is the personal choice and responsibility of the woman, because prohibiting abortion impedes freedom of choice and endangers the physical and mental health of women.