Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend the sold-out WNBA All Star Game v The 2024 USA Olympic Team. Even though I not a rabid fan of basketball, the opportunity to see Brittany Griner, Diana Taurasi, Angel Reese, and the new phenomenon, Caitlin Clark, perform, motivated me to wedge into a seat and endure Pit Bull’s half-time show.

Yet, I couldn’t truly embrace this experience because my head was stuck in recalling the 60’s, the 70’s, and even the 2020’s. As a high school student in the mid-60’s, there were no interscholastic women’s sports. Rinky-dink intramurals were all we had. In 1972, when Title IX was enacted which forbade sex discrimination in schools, I had a brief glimmer of hope. Yet in 2003, when I was president of the school board, I received a call from a parent.

“Dr. Skidmore, I’m simply informing you that as Booster Club President, we have filed a Title IX complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights (OCR), concerning gross inequities in women’s sports.”

Believe me, no one in their right mind would ever want an OCR investigation. After a substantial amount of money was spent “equalizing” the softball fields and dugouts, the school board undertook a year-long study of sports equity. No surprise. The results were the same. Overt inequities. From coaches’ salaries for similar sports, like tennis, badminton, and golf. Men’s soccer uniforms and socks were replaced yearly on the school district’s dime, while women’s socks were replaced every six years and their uniforms hadn’t been replaced in the ten-year span of the study. The high-end workout facility at each high school scheduled women athletes’ usage at 4:30 AM weekdays, and men at 6:30 AM. When the school board questioned that arrangement, the district athletic director answered, “Duh. Girls need to take showers, do their hair, and other stuff before school. We guys don’t.”

When the third quarter began, my ears were ringing–not only from the Rap music but the fan screaming next to me. I’ve had more than enough of this national spectacle. Then….

Right before the start of the 3rd quarter, two, grey-haired men, wearing black number 22 tee shirts, seated 3 rows in front of me, stood up. They turned and faced we multitudes above and held a large professionally-made sign: We spent an arm and a leg to see Caitlin Clark.

Certainly, Caitlin Clark is the new face of women’s sports. Certainly, it was a sell-out, enthusiastic crowd, who paid major dinero for tickets and unconscionable bucks for tee shirts. Yet the salaries of women professional athletes pale when compared to their male counterparts. Hopefully, these popular, rising superstars like Clark and Reese will shatter the proverbial glass ceiling.