DATE: Friday, November 28, 1997             TAG: 9711270058

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E15  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER WATSON, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT  

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

STUDENTS APPLAUD EQUITY IN ATHLETICS

TIM WATSON AND J.R. Lockery both know that women's sports don't receive the same coverage as their male counterparts.

Watson, a 16-year-old senior at Booker T. Washington High, pointed to coverage of the U.S. Open. There were ``no newspaper articles on women, just Pete (Sampras) and Andre (Agassi).''

Lockery, a 17-year-old Maury senior, said that for the LPGA, ``not very many events are televised and that the money is not there for women.''

That doesn't mean things aren't changing.

Today, girls can have dreams of playing professional sports instead of just hoping to be allowed to play Little League or recreational sports. Prodded by Title IX, the civil rights statute that mandates equal play for women, more females than ever are shooting hoops or playing soccer.

When Title IX became law, one in every 27 high school girls were involved in athletics. Today, one in every three play sports. In 1972, only 31,000 women participated in college athletics. Now that number has risen to 120,000.

Mike Barnum of Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach likes what he sees when he watches women athletes. The 17-year-old senior thinks that women's sports are ``getting a lot better.''

``I am pretty impressed by the level of play; it is pretty exciting.''

He also believes that ``every kid wants to play (sports) professionally but girls play more for respect.''

Kristen Jernigan also feels that girls ``don't get as much attention and support as we deserve.''

The 15-year-old sophomore at Wilson High School in Portsmouth has played basketball for five years. She used to look up to Larry Bird and wanted to play in the NBA. Now she follows Rebecca Lobo and wants to play in the WNBA.

Holly Corbin of Chesapeake has similar hopes. The 17-year-old Great Bridge senior says that ``one of my dreams is to play golf professionally.'' She names Carla Robertson, a former Great Bridge student who now goes to Longwood College, as a big role model. ``She paved the way for me to play golf.''

Holly and other female athletes do not realize that someone else paved the way for their being able to play sports: Edith Green, a former representative of Oregon who first introduced Title IX to Congress.

Even though female athletes are still behind, they have made leaps and bounds, as Chris Osfan puts it. The Great Bridge golf coach says that ``people will change their views over time but not immediately.''

But at least the girls can play athletics unlike many of their ancestors a long time ago.

On June 23, 1972, Title IX was signed into law. Title IX bars discrimination in education, particularly in athletics. In simplest terms, a person must be allowed to try out for a team if no comparable team for that person's gender has been formed.

Across the country, the effects of Title IX are still being felt from many female athletes and are being witnessed by others without their knowing it.

``For girls we had nothing for a while,'' says Brett Price, a senior at Maury High School in Norfolk. Most girls ``did not get encouraged at all.''

As a little girl, Brett signed up for basketball and soccer at Larchmont Recreation Center. ``I wanted to play basketball.'' Growing up, she followed Magic Johnson and wanted to be like him.

Six years ago, she stopped playing basketball and picked up a tennis racket. ``I like tennis.'' Now she watches Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, and Pete Sampras.

Brett thinks girls tend to go to college more often than boys because there are not as many opportunities for the girls. ``If the opportunity arose, more girls would play (sports) professionally.''

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