TITLE IX IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Title IX has been used by alleged victims of sexual misconduct to seek remedies against colleges that don’t take enough action against persons accused of the misconduct. New Title IX regulations have provided more due process protections to students accused of sexual misconduct and imposed a higher definition of what constitutes sexual harassment.
Under the new regulations, coaches and athletic trainers are not obligated under Title IX to report suspected incidents to the Title IX coordinator. The reason for the change is that the federal Department of Education believes this respects the autonomy of students to choose whether they want to tell a school employee for the purpose of making a Title IX report or for another reason, such as “receiving emotional support without desiring to ‘officially’ report.”
However, a new NCAA policy beginning in the 2021-2022 school year requires athletes themselves to annually disclose acts of violence that resulted in an investigation, discipline through a Title IX proceeding, or criminal conviction. This requirement applies to both new recruits and transfer students. Students must report even investigations that did not result in convictions. Per the NCAA, schools must adopt written policies directing staff to gather that information from the previous institutions of recruits and transfer athletes.
A number of colleges have gone a step further and adopted the so-called “Tracy Rule.” This rule prohibits student athletes from practicing, participating in sports, or receiving financial aid if they have any incidents or history of actual or even accused misconduct, whether sexual assault, violence, or otherwise.
A finding of liability, even if later overturned, can have a devastating effect on an athletic career. In one case at Michigan State University, a student athlete was cleared of a Title IX claim while an undergraduate, only to have the result reversed in a reinvestigation initiated by the accuser when the athlete was a part-time graduate student. He never even received notice of the reinvestigation.
As a result, he was immediately cut by the NFL’s Houston Texans from its roster and he remains out of employment with any NFL team. While the athlete settled with Michigan State which admitted it was wrong, the conviction cost him his career as a professional athlete. The Tracy Rule would require a similar result for college athletes.
