LOS ANGELES — Nowhere in the lone sentence that comprises Title IX, the 1972 law that forbids discrimination, denial of benefits or exclusion on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal financial assistance, does the word "sports" appear.
The law that opened playing fields to millions of women never specifically mentions its best-known application. It was a nuance in the phrasing, a choice of words that nearly didn't happen, that made Title IX become synonymous with cataclysmic change for female athletes.
"In those 37 words is the word 'activity.' And because of that word, it's the only reason, really, that we have women's sports today," said tennis immortal and women's rights activist Billie Jean King.
