DEI supporters should also defend the health of female athletes

After the University of Florida closed its diversity, equity and inclusion department on March 4, eliminating 13 administrative positions and appointments, Hall of Fame director Emmitt Smith, one of the Gators’ most distinguished track and field alumni, took to social media to sentence the school’s decision.

Saying he was “totally disgusted” by the move, Smith called on Black athletes in attendance to “be aware and speak out about this decision by a university that is now closing its doors to other minorities without any oversight.”

Smith’s words got here days after a press release from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

“While I am Bama’s biggest fan, I have no problem with organizing activities for Black parents and athletes at other out-of-state institutions where diversity and inclusion are a priority,” Woodfin wrote.

Smith and Woodfin’s words are mandatory. Hiding behind the false belief that DEI concepts are “divisive,” many states have implemented or proposed ending them in publicly funded institutions, including colleges and universities. The best way for minority athletes to indicate their disgust is to not give their talents to the public schools in these states, schools that happily cheer them on on the courts, tracks and fields and cash in on their success.

But who advocates for the athletes? Currently, 16 states have either banned abortion altogether or banned it after six weeks, which has the effect of being a complete ban, given that almost all women don’t even know they’re pregnant until then.

However, few outstanding voices, especially men, have spoken as much as encourage young women to avoid schools in these states.

There is a risk of this being seen as an Oppression Olympics, but not having the bodily autonomy to make the best decision for you is more impactful – and potentially dangerous – than not having a DEI office in your school.

Take the SEC for instance. Of the 14 schools in the conference, 13 are in states with total bans. Only those competing for alligators are in a state with barely more women-friendly laws: Florida prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. But when Oklahoma and the University of Texas join the SEC next yr, 14 of 15 will develop into 15 of 16.

The women at these schools aren’t the only ones following these terrible rules: of the 69 schools in a single of the Power 5 conferences, 26 are in states with total or near-total bans, and 10 of Southwestern Athletic’s 12 conference schools are conference schools too. And these are only chosen first league schools. Does not include colleges in other divisions, NAIA, or junior colleges.

The NCAA has already stepped up motion after passing state laws that violate human rights. In 2015, she not only condemned an anti-LGBT law in Indiana, where the NCAA is headquartered, but encouraged the state to offer protections for these residents. In 2016, it withdrew the championship from North Carolina after the passage of a “bathroom bill” that banned transgender people from using restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity in most public places. But since then, the NCAA has been largely silent on the topic — even before that Supreme Court Dobbs ruling that the Constitution doesn’t grant a right to abortion and restoring abortion regulation to states in 2022..

In 2021, Texas passed a heinous law that bans the procedure and allows private residents to sue doctors who perform abortions. Not only has the perennially inept NCAA done nothing, but it surely continues to award major championships to cities in states where women are deprived of the ability to make their very own health care decisions. The 2023 Women’s Basketball Final Four and Track and Field Championships were held in Texas, the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma, and the 2024 Women’s Volleyball Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

Perhaps this is not surprising given the NCAA’s historical approach to female athletes. A 2021 external review found myriad systemic problems with the way the governing body of college athletics has undervalued and in some ways undermined women’s sports and female athletes.

It is disappointing, nonetheless, that NCAA President Charlie Baker, who has been in office since March 1, 2023, has not yet spoken publicly or acknowledged his influence. As governor of Massachusetts, Baker, considered pro-choice, signed an executive order protecting abortion in the state moments after the Dobbs decision in 2022.

Given the number of countries which have severely restricted this procedure, it’s currently estimated that 1 in 3 women of reproductive age in the country don’t have access to abortion. According to latest statistics According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.7% of pregnancies are unintended, and in the event that they occur during college, they often result in women dropping out of school.

Whether an athlete is destined for professionalism or Olympic glory, higher education is crucial for ladies and long-term financial security for themselves and their potential families. Although men still outperform women at every level of education, data shows that the average earnings of women over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree are $25,000 higher than those of women over the age of 25 with a highschool diploma.

And since Black women have more college debt than another demographic group, a black athlete receiving a scholarship gets to maintain significantly more of those earnings, paving the way for home ownership, investment, or travel. Abortion bans are an attack on all people of reproductive age. Forcing a lady to stay pregnant has lifelong consequences, disrupting education, profession aspirations and earning potential, amongst other things.

Female athletes should avoid states where the government denies them the ability to make deeply personal decisions. They need men who will also get up and support them.