‘SHE’S GOT NEXT’
Study aims to create change for girls, women in sports
It’s always been about empowering young women at Regina High School.
So, it’s no surprise that the all-girls school in Warren has announced plans to build a field of dreams that will fuel a movement to invest in the future of girls and women’s sports.
“The complex is going to support our women athletes but it will also be accessible to other youth programs in the community,” said Patricia Martin, senior director of advancement at Regina High School.
“This was something the school started thinking about back in 2014,” Martin said, but it remained on the back burner while the school focused on improvements to its academic programming.
Now with a new administration in place, led by Mary Treder Lang, who took over as president and with Regina’s athletic director and coach Diane Laffey retiring and passing the baton on to the next generation, school officials are moving forward with plans to create the Diane Laffey Athletic Field and Complex.
“We knew that it was time to invest in our athletes,” Martin said.
What really drove it home was a new study released by the Michigan Women in Sports Task Force.
“Now more than ever we need to move forward with this,” Martin said, holding up a copy of the study, “She’s Got Next: Creating Change for Michigan’s Girls and Women in Sports.”
Title IX
The study was launched after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order establishing the Michigan Women in Sports Task Force in 2019. Chaired by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and made up of 15 voting members and 16 advisors from across the state and country, the task force was created to research the status of girls and women in sports and to provide recommendations in time for the 50th Anniversary of Title IX.
One problem noted immediately was the lack of attention to Title IX?
According to the Michigan Department of Education, Federal Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions.
The law states, “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.”
Initially it brought about change. According to the NCAA, there were 151,918 men and 15,182 women in college sports in 1966-1967, a few years before the passage of Title IX, and 252,946 men and 191,131 women in 2010-2011.
Before the law, there were few competitive sports for girls at the high school level.
By the fall of 1972, after Title IX had become law, a Bi-County League including the L’Anse Creuse, Clintondale, Fraser, Grosse Pointe North, Lakeview and South Lake, had formed a girls basketball conference.
In the fall of ‘73, the Michigan High School Athletic Association held its first state tournament for girls basketball.
Local leaders
Among those who pioneered change before and after Title IX is Regina High School’s retired coach Diane Laffey of Harrison Township, whose passion for sports began as a child tagging along behind her father, who was a high school football and basketball coach.
“I played baseball and softball when I was in high school. We played in the Catholic Youth Organization. The Michigan High School Athletic Association did not offer women’s sports at the time,” said Laffey, who was coaching and teaching at St. Anthony East Catholic High School when the coaching job opened up at Regina High School in 1970.
She was originally supposed to coach
the junior varsity team but because of her experience was given the job of varsity coach, and she never looked back.
During her 60 year career in sports she was named to the state’s alltime list for softball coaching victories including seven state championships and more than 600 basketball wins.
“My goals at that time were to make the girls the best athletes and students that I could,” Laffey said.
At that time there were very few sports scholarships for girls but once more became available she made sure her players sought them out. “I encouraged the girls to strive for success and supported their efforts to seek and earn athletic scholarships,” said Laffey, who is an example of what a female coach can accomplish when given an opportunity.
“I was fortunate to have the cooperation and support of the male coaches at St. Anthony,” said Laffey, who never worried about salary as much as gaining the mutual respect of her coaching peers.
Laffey said women’s sports have become more competitive. The athletes are getting stronger and working harder to become highly skilled so they can get the scholarships that are available.
“I believe the success of the USA Women’s National Soccer team and the women in the Olympics has also helped,” Laffey said, of what has helped to motivate young women interested in sports.
“Title IX probably saved women’s sports as much as it has helped to improve things,” said Laffey, whose dedication to women’s sports and Regina High School will be honored forever by the naming of the Diane Laffey Athletic Field and Complex.
There’s no doubt Title IX increased opportunities and provided protection for girls and women in education-based athletics while also impacting club sports but the task force found that the full vision of the law has not been realized.
Research by the Task Force showed:
• At the K-12 level, girls in Michigan participate in athletics at lower rates than boys, and those rates are further exacerbated by other factors like socioeconomic status and geography.
• At the collegiate level, there are fewer female student-athletes than male student-athletes, on average. Female student-athletes often receive less institutional investment in terms of funding, visibility, and institutional support when they do participate.
• There are relatively few professional women’s sports teams and athletes in Michigan compared to men’s teams, despite the value of female role models for younger girls, women and athletes.
• Women are underrepresented in sports leadership at the collegiate and university level in Michigan compared to their male peers, with only approximately 25% of NAIA head coaches and 26% of NCAA head coaches identifying as female. While these statistics are slightly better than the national average, it is still far below gender parity.
• Michigan women navigating careers in sports and athletics report facing gender discrimination, “glass ceilings,” and an “old boys club” culture in their workplaces.
• Men and women alike recognize the need for increased male allyship as well as increased institutional support for women leaders across all levels of sport.
Task force recommendations
Last June in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the task force presented its report to the governor. Following the three-year study that included the research and review of reports by numerous groups and organizations, hundreds of hours of informed discussions and debates, the task force presented three broad strategies addressing legislation, policies, programs and investments.
First and foremost on their list of recommendations, is the need to modernize and expand upon Federal Title IX requirements to increase protections, compliance and accountability.
Despite the fact that every school district must have a Title IX coordinator, who is responsible for protection, investigation, resolutions and education, many students and their parents are not aware of Title IX or what’s required by the law. At universities and colleges in Michigan there are fewer women student-athletes than men student-athletes on average. Moreover, women student athletes often receive less institutional investment in terms of funding, visibility, and support for their sport participation. While annual reports are required to be submitted to superintendents, there is no requirement to make them public, which would increase the transparency of the process and ensure the full benefits of the law are being carried out.
Title IX can be elevated in Michigan through tactics that increase transparency, hold organizations accountable and provide enforcement mechanisms for those who fail to follow its mission.
Secondly, the task force recommends investing in more pathways for Michigan girls and women to play, work and lead in sports in Michigan including under-resourced areas.
The gender disparity in sport leadership positions is not due to a lack of talent, but rather a lack of athletic opportunities at the amateur, professional and elite levels of sport.
In Macomb County for example, research shows that it needs an 11% growth in athletic facilities to support its youth programs. Students at many high schools have to travel outside their district in order to play sports that are not accessible in their communities.
Regina High School’s new outdoor athletic complex is one solution in the works. Once completed, it’s expected to serve 40% of the top youth sports played and support more than 200 summer camps. The complex will include a turf field, track and soccer and softball fields, grandstands and a press box and possibly other buildings for concessions and equipment in the future.
Who knows? With the right investors it could become a showplace for a variety of sports in Metro Detroit.
“Yes, it will elevate Regina but also youth sports in our surrounding communities,” said Martin, noting that while the school has secured a portion of the funding, they are still in need of investors, partnerships and individual donors.
“Regina has always been one to set the standards for women’s sports and I feel like this complex will exemplify that standard and help to bring about the changes that are needed,” said Emily Frikken, who graduated from Regina in 2009.
After obtaining a master’s degree in educational leadership she returned to her alma mater as the alumni relations director and after serving as assistant coach for both basketball and softball was named Laffey’s successor as athletic director for 2023.
“One of my goals is to ensure our athletes are recognized and celebrated for their achievements,” she added.
Martin concurred.
“It’s time we supported them all the way,” Martin said.
One Michigander who has proven how that pays off is Serena Williams, who is not only one of the best tennis players of all time but has shown that female sports can attract an audience.
Williams, who was born in Saginaw, lost her final match in the U.S. Open but it made history.
According to a report by CNN, her match averaged 4.8 million viewers, making it ESPN’s mostwatched tennis match in its 43-year history. In fact, ratings peaked during the match’s final set, garnering 6.9 million viewers. Thanks to her, viewership for the primetime event was ESPN’s most-watched program of the day, surpassing several college football games.
Michigan has a great history of producing elite athletes but they are often celebrated as a novelty. Michiganders need to continue their support of its athletes and invest in future opportunities that improve sport opportunities and experiences for girls and women.
“Visible and tangible support from the public and private sectors for girls and women who are athletes and sport leaders sends a signal of their importance,” said members of the task force.
However, real and sustainable change will require financial support.
Among the initiatives pitched by the task force: Using Michigan’s specialty cause license plate program to generate funds or redistributing leisure and selective excise sales tax dollars to fund initiatives for change. States such as New York and Ohio allocate a portion of state tax revenue from sports betting to youth sports programs.
“Engaging stakeholders across public, private and nonprofit sectors to elevate and support girls and women’s involvement in sports will have exponentially positive impacts on our state,” said members of the task force. “Intentional investment in the athletic participation and career pathways of girls and women at all levels of sport will produce highly skilled leaders, entrepreneurs, and mentors helping to prepare the next generation.”
‘Over time female athletes have had to put in just as much work, if not more, to prove that they are talented and that their achievements are just as impressive as their male counterparts,” said Frikken. “It’s time to invest in women’s sports by validating their talent and their hard work. The word investment does not just mean a financial investment; it also means respect.”