Title IX’s work is far from finished

Title IX, the federal law that helped open sports to women, turned 45 in the past week.

There were celebrations to honor the anniversary. There were reports issued like the ones detailing the decline in collegiate women’s coaches. Or the one by Legal Aid at Work, whose Fair Play for Girls in Sports project showed that fewer than half of California public schools are complying with a state law that mandates that schools report on student participation to measure Title IX compliance.

The reports prove there’s more work to do.

As does the biggest women sports talking point. While Title IX was having its birthday, the tired old trope — how would a woman athlete fare against men? — was making the well-worn rounds.

John McEnroe, appearing on NPR, put his foot in it. Granted, he was set up by his host Lulu Garcia-Navarro who, after McEnroe called Serena Williams the best female player ever, asked him “Why qualify it?”

That’s when McEnroe, instead of saying “She’s one of the greatest ever,” or “She’s a legend,” or “Who cares?” said this:

“If she played in the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world.”

That sparked a round of the inane arguments about how women would fare against men, which is not — and never has been — the point of women having equal access to sports opportunity.

Williams responded on Twitter in amusing fashion, telling McEnroe that she adored him but asked him to keep “me out of your statements that are not factually based.”

The killer line: “Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby.”

Williams might not beat the top men on the court, but they won’t win a Grand Slam while pregnant like she did.

Nor will men do what Alysia Montaño did last week: run at the U.S. Track and Field championships while five months pregnant. She did the same thing with her first child, in 2014, and was surprised to learn how many women were motivated by watching her.

“Women let me know that my journey had inspired them in so many ways,” Montaño said.

Now, that is the right way to say “Happy Birthday Title IX.”