Fighting Cultural Norms to Include Everyone in Activities

The 2022 Super Bowl opened with a recognition of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the increased access to athletics. Billie Jean King, an advocate and historic figure for women in sports, narrated a clip about a football team at The California School for the Deaf, Girls Flag Football Champions, and other young female athletes. This dedication took place before an international audience honoring girls from various ages in football uniforms aired before the honorary coin toss.

This brief dedication to women’s athletics, the deaf community and the anniversary of Title IX offers a glimmer of hope for the future of athletics to be more inclusive at all levels. Women’s athletics impacts cultural factors beyond the track, court and pool, with female athletes gaining opportunities to represent their high school, university, region and even country. Special Olympics and participants in Unified Programs have shared similar effects within school campuses, special education and beyond…what does true inclusion for females – and other under-represented sport populations like athletes with disabilities – look like?

Expand Pathways of Participation and Recognition
In order to begin defining what inclusion may look like, leaders need to acknowledge discrepancies between male athletes’ experiences in high school and beyond and those of females and athletes with disabilities.

Continuity of community partnerships, participation and celebrations exists between high school to college and college to professional teams for men’s sports. Post high school, female athletes and athletes with disabilities share a distinct commonality – they do not have the same pathway for continued athletic participation and integration. After high school, these populations experience a drop off or cultural cliff for community engagement, and peer recognition for females and athletes with disabilities, is far less existent when compared to male peers.

High school leaders can have a positive effect in making more equitable environments that support under-represented populations. For instance, schools could include diverse groups of stakeholders when planning upcoming seasons, facilities, uniforms and budgets. This includes coaches, parents and athletes from Unified, varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams for all sports.

Additionally, school leaders can a) engage and encourage discussions on gender, disability and race when onboarding new coaches to clarify school value and culture, and b) promote education- based athletics as learning environments for all stakeholders.

Promote Under-represented Athletics to Increase Exposure
Friday nights in the fall are synonymous with high school football; however, Friday nights do not need to be the only night of athletic promotion or be solely limited to one sport. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX and there are a number of education- based activities that we can promote as equally important to Friday Night Lights. Whether it’s girls basketball, Unified Sports or the school Improv team, all students deserve appropriate recognition and appreciation for their contributions to entire school communities.

To make the most of all programs, schools need to look for opportunities to promote and value all activities. School leaders must also have ready responses to negative biases. For instance, a common putdown on some campuses may be something like, “People don’t watch women’s sports” and lack the large fan bases that are traditionally associated with male athletes.

Fighting cultural norms is never easy, but sometimes it is the right thing for students. The dominance of men’s sports represented by broadcasting and tradition surrounding the Super Bowl, March Madness and Spring Training are beyond a principal, athletic director or coach’s locus of control; however, systemic gender biases, absence of mainstream recognition for Unified Programs, and exclusionary traditions within society should not deter future progress, especially in high school settings.

Creating a future for fan bases in women’s sports and programs like Special Olympics starts with foundational social experiences. When schools reinforce the value of female athletes and athletes with disabilities in large community events, local press, and social media platforms, they create an opportunity for more inclusive and appreciative communities.

Furthermore, coaches may use events and competitions that are unique to their sport as team bonding events to take high school athletes to women’s sporting events at the college and professional levels. Team outings to such events create small, yet impactful practices in the overall culture of a given program and lifelong traditions within individual players, especially when the adult leaders of high school programs model – through their actions – how to better appreciate everyone’s contribution to society.

Leverage Opportunities to Have Students Share Their Stories
One area that all high schools can better promote is the participant story. High school athletics can be a bigger stakeholder in counteracting cultural exclusion than what may be realized, and it all starts with validating and learning from what participants experience. When leaders listen to and promote the voices of female and under-represented populations it allows others to hear and begin to see a better, more inclusive world.

School sites across the nation have become Unified Partners with Special Olympics, a program that creates athletic participation and community for athletes with specific disabilities. Special Olympic athletes, paralympic or adaptive athletes, and athletes who identify with the deaf community begin to transcend perceived functional limitations with like programs. Visibility and participation of female athletes and the disability community in school programs allows students to take on leadership roles while engaging with peers to pioneer inclusion for diverse and intersectional student populations.

Other examples include innovative traditions typically associated with the high school experience to honor both male and female athletic teams, as well as other clubs and activities. These are important steps to move from representation to authentic inclusion. Additional steps revolve around creating systemic equity in high school programs, as they are foundational to an individual’s lifelong relationship with athletics.

Final Remarks
The avenue for continued participation in athletics and the societal appreciation for sports yields different outcomes and endpoints for male and female athletes, as well as athletes with disabilities. What school leaders can work toward is sharing the vision of a future where community-centered events, like the Super Bowl, have the capacity to exist for athletes of all abilities and identities.

True inclusion for females, and other minority sport populations like athletes with disabilities, requires the continued transition from exclusion, to equality, equitable systemic practice, and finally sustainable inclusion of all athletes into the greater campus culture and beyond. The reality is inclusion in high school athletics will exist when there is a true sense of belonging, understanding and celebration for all student-athlete populations.

We may have started the journey toward a better world with the start of Title IX 50 years ago, and it’s important to acknowledge how far society has come due to its legislation; however, all schools have the opportunity to further clarify a vision where all students are equally valued and can be a part of a more inclusive world.