Byron McLain Quoted on Future of Title IX and the Potential Employee Model

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Byron McLain’s article, “Student-Athlete Compensation Not a Hail-Mary (But a Reality) After Alston Decision,” was quoted in a Sports Business Journal article titled “The Uncertain Future Of Title IX,” covering the inevitable showdown over the landmark legislation that will shape the direction of college sports.

McLain’s piece was quoted highlighting the impact of Title IX’s role in a potential employee model. He contends that equitable protections for women under Title IX apply only to educational opportunities, and not for those deemed employees. McLain reported that the professionalization of college sports could spell the end of Title IX, saying that the unprecedented growth of women’s sports during the last half-century could be “immediately stunted.”

“Without the protections of Title IX, schools will feel increased financial pressure if they are forced to maintain programs that are not ‘profitable’ but also must pay wages to the athletes in those unprofitable programs,” McLain wrote. The financial pressure, he argued, could force some institutions to make economic-driven decisions to cut some non-revenue sports, which would disproportionately affect female athletes.