This summer has seen a flourish of exceptionally bad reporting on Title IX. It seems that the Wall Street Journal has joined the fray with its July 6, 2005 article "Title IX's Next Hurdle." On its front page, the Wall Street Journal describes Title IX: "Today it is best known as the law that helped pave the way for female athletes like Danica Patrick." Perhaps the Wall Street Journal should have done a little research before asserting this claim, or maybe they chose to willingly join the myth-makers who like to link the success of every female athlete, like the tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, to Title IX even though they never participated in college athletics.

Danica Patrick is a race car driver. She has been recognized for some time now by racing insiders as an up and coming driver of exceptional driving skill and athletic ability. Her recent fourth place finish at the Indianapolis 500, coupled with her blisteringly fast qualifying runs has now established her as a talent to be reckoned with. Mainstream media pounced on her story because she is a woman. Granted, other outstanding female drivers like Sara Fisher, Lyn St. James, and Janet Guthrie have qualified for this great race, but never has Title IX been credited for their successes. Perhaps, in their cases, the Title IX myth-making machine had not yet fully 'got up to speed.' 

According to RACER magazine, Danica Patrick won a national championship in karting in 1997. A quick check of the website for the NCAA reveals that karting is not one of its sponsored championships or even listed among its designated "emerging" female sports like bowling and badminton. So it would appear that Danica didn't race go-karts in order to win a college scholarship.

At age 16 Danica progressed to the Formula Vauxhall series to race open wheel cars. There are no NCAA teams in the Formula Vauxhall series. From there she continued to earn respect by placing second in the prestigious British Formula Ford Festival in 2000. Title IX is a federal law of the United States of America, so even if schools in the United Kingdom sponsored auto racing teams, the 33 year old gender discrimination law would not apply in that country.

When she returned to the US, she raced for legendary driver and team owner Bobby Rahal in the Toyota Atlantic series, known for producing open wheel racing champions in premier series like the Indy Racing League and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). As a private enterprise, her team, Rahal Letterman Racing, has no obligation to comply with Title IX. Bobby Rahal hired Danica Patrick to race his cars because of her driving talent, not to fill a gender quota. She more than proved her worth to Rahal Letterman Racing through her recent performance at this year's Indy 500. 

For the Wall Street Journal to assert that Title IX helped Danica Patrick in her racing career marks a milestone in shabby reporting- there is no connection between the two. Unfortunately, this is part of the mythicizing of Title IX- claiming that the success of all our great female athletes is due to Title IX. Danica is an outstanding competitor in her field. She is living proof that women do not need Title IX's gender quotas to thrive.