Michigan, Title IX, and Don Canham - A History
As a history teacher, I subscribe to the History News Network's email list, which sends out biweekly history stories across a wide range of topics. Today's article, on the heels of March Madness is about the early years of Title IX in American law and how Michigan AD Don Canham was one of the most vociferous opponents of its application to college athletics.
It's somewhat remarkable to realize how successful many of Michigan's women's sports programs have been given this early opposition.
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/this-is-standby-alert
I'm glad you're dead Don, you rape-ignoring fuckwad.
I'll keep my anger and death-wishes directed at the people who actually committed the crimes, not at the people who failed to understand their significance. Was that a mistake? Yes. Was it egregious? Maybe. But sanctimony doesn't help.
He fucked up. No doubt. Good thing the rest of us are perfect, I'd say.
But sanctimony doesn't help.
Then shut the fuck up
Actually though yeah let's talk about how the dude who ignored literal thousands of male athletes being sexually assaulted and also (if you read the article) fought tooth and nail against the existence of women's sports was anything other than a stain on the university. What was he good for exactly? That he was chummy with Bo Schembechler? That he hated women? What was it?
Jesus dude, grow up.
I always wonder what goes through the mind of the contrarian when discussing a dead guy's pretty significant wrongdoings. Is it a mindless compulsion to avoid speaking ill of the dead? Is Don Canham DennisFranklin's grandfather? Is the bare-minimum moral standard just too much accountability to be expected for those in powerful leadership positions? Given the sarcastic "good thing the rest of us are perfect," my money is on the last one.
I always wonder what goes through the mind of someone trying to make a point who starts their discussion with "shut the fuck up"
Sure! The mewling both-sides-ism of the response angered me. If you want to defend Don Canham and his positive qualities then go for it. But just saying "its rude to say that a guy beloved by the university was a piece of shit" is not an argument, and critiquing vulgarity for critiques sake on a message board is silly.
Read the article and read about Robert Anderson then tell me that Don Canham was anything other than inveterate piece of shit. If it makes you feel better, nothing you or I or anyone else can say ever has the possibility of hurting him, because he's dead.
"critiquing vulgarity for critiques sake on a message board is silly."
I dont give a shit about vulgarity. But trying to make a point (even if it's one I agree with you on) by saying shut the fuck up as you opener sure is a good way to not let anyone take what you have to say seriously.
okay, next time ill suck up to you <3
I don't mind the cussin' on message boards, but aggressive statements like "shut the fuck up" are part of what's wrong with message board and key board warriors. Would you say that to someone's face who was having a discussion with you? If so, that's even more problematic, as that's what's leading to the inability to debate or discuss something with nearly anyone in today's world.
I absolutely would tell you to shut the fuck up to your face, and I hope to one day have the opportunity to do so.
I’ve often wondered if “both-side-ism” exists because there is almost always more than one side? Food for thought.
No one has yet actually presented another side of Don Canham's relationship to women or victims of sexual assault. Just little aphorisms about how we shouldn't be mean to others. You're free to make the case on the merits.
Or maybe what we could do is stop needing to reflexively highlight the worst attribute of every thing or person in order to wallow in our collective misery and yell at the sky about how the world is awful and everything is bad.
I know it was “in” for a while but it is fucking exhausting and bringing the world down. Not everything has to be a damn struggle session.
Amen and thank you.
Its still an "in" thing, unfortunately.
"reflexively highlight the worst attribute of every thing or person in order to wallow in our collective misery"
Or perhaps highlight the enlightenment and virtue we have obtained by living in the 21st Century?
I am reminded of an early scene in the movie "Sleeper." The Woody Allen character is awakened from being frozen for 200 years. The doctor hands him a cigarette and tells him to inhale deeply. Apparently science in the future had proven that tar and nicotine is good for you.
I have no idea if I’m enlightened or virtuous. All that changes with the wind. But I am nice to other people, dependable, reliable, and hard working. That is good enough for me.
"nice to other people."
Such an underrated quality in these times.
I dunno man. This isn't just "he held the attitudes of the time about women, see it in context", which I'm generally OK with.
Sounds like he was sort of in the Joe Paterno school, and we tend to look down on PSU people for still venerating him, so...
Lmao this is an article about Canham being aggressively sexist and using his power to enforce that sexism on the university for decades, setting Michigan women's sports back 10+ years. This is a guy who is still publicly venerated by the university. But yes, we should focus on being nice to him because he's dead.
This isn't exactly an attitude that engenders rational discussion. Emotional reactions can be an excellent motivator, but if not properly tempered they often ruin constructive discourse.
We can ridicule msu and o$u all day (and we do), but it becomes far more satisfying when done with calm, unassailable logic.
He remade UM athletics into what it is today.
Actually, Canham hired Bo. Also, his argument was economic, and he wasn't entirely wrong. There usually isn't enough money for everything. Before Bo was hired, the stadium wasn't nearly full except for MSU and OSU. Ironically, thanks to Canham and Bo filling the stadium and other kinds of deals Canham made, Michigan is basically an exception. Look at this:
College Gym Graveyard: Eulogies for the Teams We've Lost - College Gym News
Aren't there only 15 men's gymnastics teams left in the country?
Also, I still can't believe my tall, unathletic niece was highly pressured to join Wisconsin's rowing team as a freshman just so it could meet its Title IX requirements.
Ah, nothing like a rational, non-emotional, and insightful post to kick off the discussion.
You're free to expound on his virtues. What was your favorite part of the article?
Speaking of sexual assault-ignoring fuckwads:
“Judge Roy Moore is the real deal: He’s tough, tested, and has a spine of steel.
“The Washington establishment knows they won’t be able to count on him, but Alabama voters can. Judge Moore has never backed down from standing for what is right, and that’s exactly what he’ll do in the U.S Senate.
“That’s why the Washington establishment is spending millions trying to defeat Judge Moore.”
“Alabama needs Judge Moore there doing what he’s always done: fighting to protect our constitutional rights to life, religious liberty, and the freedom to protect ourselves and our families. And he will always put principle over politics.” — Chuck Norris
“I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to have the great Chuck Norris endorse our campaign for U.S. Senate!” — Roy Moore
Typical Canham L. What an asshole.
Also very disappointed to read that letter by Johnny Orr, which I’d never seen before.
Thanks for sharing the article. This functions as a companion piece of sorts to the one that appeared in HTTV last summer, which I’d highly recommend anyone check out if you didn’t read it already.
It's somewhat remarkable to realize how successful many of Michigan's women's sports programs have been given this early opposition.
First women’s NC was field hockey in 2001, I believe.
Women's swim and dive was 2nd in the country in 1995, fwiw.
Sure. It will all depend on how success is defined. Hutch had softball rolling in the 80s I think.
I guess my point was we didn’t dominate women’s sports right away. Also I don’t find it surprising that our teams could have competed in spite of Canham. He probably wasn’t the only one who viewed it as a burden.
Edit: Solecismic’s post further below has a much better perspective on this.
A fun fact IMO: Michigan was the first school east of the Mississippi to win a softball title.
It’s always interesting to me how many arguments against equality or justice boil down to “but think of the money we could continue to make by NOT having equal rights!”
You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve been in closed-door meetings and heard some variant of “you CANNOT force us to treat our workforce as employees!”
Explanation for early women athletes receiving the crappy cloth-sleeved letter jackets.
In 1975, the animosity toward the growth of opportunity for women’s athletics even spilled over to the awarding of letters for athletic accomplishments. The University of Michigan lettermen took their name of “M Men” seriously, loudly protesting when the women asked to receive similarly embroidered jackets. Men’s basketball coach Johnny Orr wrote letters of protest to Canham, indicating men’s ‘M’ letters would be meaningless if women received the same for what he believed represented lesser levels of performance.
That wrong was finally righted when the early women athletes received "real" letter jackets thanks to Sheryl Szady.
In 2016, she, along with several current varsity women’s cross country student-athletes, led the push to give all 896 ‘M’ Women the proper varsity letter jackets as men — originally denied to them from 1973 to 1991.
2016? Good god what are (were) we doing?
They were receiving real jackets in 1992. In 2016 people from 1973-1991 got real jackets.
I don’t know, maybe that was clear already, but I find it less shocking. More shocked by the 1992.
Here's another "fun" fact for you . . . women were not allowed in the Marching Band until 1972.
I learned that last year, and I found it shocking. I never played an instrument so I'm no expert, but since when was a penis required to play a cornet?
Clearly you have never tried to tune a cornet while standing naked in the shower.
It's not required.
But it helps.
There were protests in 1971, which (in part) brought about the change. The early women were not treated well, either.
At one point I sat down and figured it out, but the MMB was not unique in this regard within the B1G. The Purdue band had an alumnus on the moon (Neil Armstrong) before they had a woman on the field. IIRC, the outliers were a few bands that allowed women during World War II, but most everyone else came alongside Title IX.
FWIW, the UM Alumni Band has long welcomed for homecoming any alumnus who played in a university band, so there are alumnae who come back from as long ago as the 1940s and 1950s, having played in concert ensembles, but not the MMB.
There weren't any women cheerleaders either.
Wasn't that the thing Grapentine was commemorating that led him to being on the podcast a couple years back?
Yeah. We talked about how a woman even stepping on the field was treated as verboten. They would even at times put it out that it was going to happen only for a man in drag to appear. Of course Dooley and the Bentley guys have sleuthed out plenty of photos of women on the field before '71, like in the first photo of the banner, for example.
I was in MMB Fall 1981 and was stunned to find out that women had not been allowed as recently (1971) as 10 years before my FR year. It seemed that the band had more men than women in '81 but not like 80/20, perhaps more 65/35. And I don't recall any of my '81 bandmates being snotty toward women in the band, but we didn't have many people of color. I hope that's better these days.
Women weren't allowed to have credit cards in their own names until 1974. So they could play The Victors before they could take responsibility for themselves financially, even though many women worked and supported households.
I joined the band in '83 and there were at least as many females as males. The only complaint I ever heard was the size of the women's restroom in Revelli Hall being inadequate, which was a relic of the band's makeup in the past.
From everything I saw in my five years in the band (I was a slow student), women had no issues. If anyone from that era can correct me, I would be interested to hear any anecdotes.
My mom got her jacket then and it was a huge moment for her
My opinions on Title 9 haven't changed much since I was a kid and the issue was still controversial. I always thought they should exempt the profit making sports from the men's teams' scholly numbers (because they are paying the freight and were virtually professional in every way except player pay). Then have equal scholly numbers/equipment etc for non-revenue sports. That said, It's good to be reminded of the naked sexism from those days.... Orr's comments seem downright silly today.
I tell my kids (19 and 25) about the casual racism/antisemitism/homophobia that were absolutely commonplace during my something-north-of-middle-class WASPy youth and they can't believe their ears. Maybe on occasion "political correctness" leads to some hairbrained conclusions, but my god we're a better society than we were a generation or two ago.
I agree with you. With that, I try not to get caught up in "presentism": uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts.
There is no doubt that you and your kids are doing so-called acceptable things today that will be unacceptable in the near future.