A California bill would result in detrimental consequences for female athletes | Opinion

As Olympians, we know the years of dedication and sacrifice required to reach the most career-defining moment in international competitive sport. We also know the support and resources necessary to compete at the highest level. Here in California, our journeys in competitive swimming would not have been possible without our collegiate experiences at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, respectively.

But the system that helped us achieve our Olympic dreams is under threat. The California state legislature is considering a bill that would not only undermine the collegiate sports system but would also likely lead to the elimination of many sports programs in our state.

The California Athlete Protection Act (Assembly Bill 252) plans to redirect revenue to athletes competing in high revenue-generating, media-facing sports like football and basketball. While we support opportunities for athletes to leverage their market value, this bill would take away opportunities for athletes across a range of sports. That’s because collegiate sports are funded by money brought in from football and men’s basketball programs, and the bill proposed offers no plan to replace these funds.

On average, only about 20% of athletic department’s operating budgets pay for college sports that are also Olympic sports, which provides for nearly 78% of all college athletes. If passed, schools will be faced with making decisions over what sports programs survive. Since the proposed marketplace will put pressure on schools to protect football and basketball, it’s likely that schools will have the inevitable decision to cut Olympic sport programs due to funding shortfalls.

We are also concerned that this bill will have a particularly harsh impact on women’s sports. It could cause female athletes to lose scholarships when colleges no longer have the budget to operate their sports. As is, male athletes earn $133 million more scholarship dollars than their female counterparts. If this bill passes, this difference will only widen, resulting in detrimental consequences for female athletes in nearly every sport.

After 50 years of Title IX making a difference for women and girls, it would be devastating to see this progress reversed.

Currently, only 56% of student-athletes in Olympic sports are women. Annually, Division I Olympic programming provides more than 86,000 women with the opportunity to compete at an elite level and have access to more than $1.3 billion in scholarships. As a long-term consequence of AB 252, the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I schools will carry a narrow slate of sports focused on football and basketball scholarships and the equivalent rosters for women, which will reduce women’s access to broad-based sport opportunities.

As we prepare for Los Angeles to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, we must ensure that California doesn’t enact legislation that hinders the opportunity for athletes to compete in college, especially for our own athletes. Nearly 20% of U.S. medalists in the Tokyo Olympics were from Stanford, the University of Southern California, UC Los Angeles and UC Berkeley.

Athletes across every sport make a lasting impact on their schools by devoting years of dedication and sacrifice to their sport. They pave the way for the next generation to compete.

We cannot allow the entertainment model to overtake our educational model of scholastic sport. We must work to safeguard our current system: one where aspiring athletes receive equitable opportunities, facilities, participation and funding in all sports.