EDITORS’ LETTER
IX LIVES
BY THE EDITORS OF
SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDHE COVER of the May 28, 1973, issue of
Sports Illustr ated is still striking,
with its close-up photo of an anonymous
young female sprinter and jarringly direct
headline: women are getting a raw deal.
That cover story was the first installment in a
surprisingly forward-looking three-part series
by SI on the state of women’s sports. The key
takeaways: In ’73 gender inequity in funding and
opportunity was rampant, as was chauvinism
toward female athletes at all levels.
Some of the ground covered in the series is
shocking; some is all too familiar. One thing
today’s reader can’t help but notice is the absence
of any mention of Title IX, the gender-equity
education law that was signed a year earlier.
No one then foresaw the impact it would have.
Sometimes the seeds of revolution bloom slowly.
Now it’s a given that Title IX has definitively
shaped the modern sports landscape—we’ve had
its 50th anniversary, and this issue, circled on our
calendars for a while. We wanted this package of
stories, overseen by Assistant Managing Editor
Jamie Lisanti, to explore the history and future
of Title IX. And we wanted the cover to capture
the spirit of a law that in one way or another has
impacted every woman in this country.
So this spring we asked readers at SI.com and
on social media to submit photos embodying what
Title IX means to them. SI Director of Photography
Marguerite Schropp Lucarelli curated dozens
of submissions featuring women of all ages,
eras and levels, from Major League Baseball to
rec-league soccer. You can see many of themon this unique crowd-
sourced cover, alongside
such sports icons as
Billie Jean King, Allyson Felix
and Pat Summitt. The
Title IX effect runs deep,
from sports’ grass roots to
their halls of fame.
As Big East commissioner
Va l Acker ma n(page 16)
and SI contributor
Maggie Mertens (page 26)
point out in their essays
in this issue, the journey
toward sports equity has
come a long way, but there
still is progress to be made.
The same goes for SI, which
is working toward equity
in the stories we tell—all
the time, not just around
convenient anniversaries.
The spirit of evolution
and empowerment is
driving another key
Sports Illustr ated
franchise. SI Swimsuit will
unveil its 2022 issue and
new digital content May 16,
all of it powered by the
new Pay With Change
initiative: From now on
SI Swim is partnering
only with sponsors that demonstrate a commitment to
driving progress for women. These Changemaker brands
include Hard Rock, Maybelline, the U.S. Virgin Islands
Department of Tourism, and Frida Mom. Every step
toward equity counts, as the first 50 years of Title IX have
shown us. Let’s see how far we can go in the next 50.JUNE 2022T
7FROM TOP: WALTER IOOSS JR.; KOHJIRO K INNO
MOVING
FORWARD
Leaders like Felix
(middle) and initiatives
like Pay With Change
are creating progress
t h a t f el t unlik el y b a c k
in 1973 (top).Banca do Antfer
Telegram: https://t.me/bancadoantfer
Issuhub: https://issuhub.com/user/book/
Issuhub: https://issuhub.com/user/book/