Title IX: Danyelle Smith Story

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, we can reflect on how far we’ve come but there is still more work to be done to achieve the ideals Title IX set forth. Even today we know athletic opportunities at most schools aren’t equitable – that’s why the hard work of leaders who implement & create programs aimed at true equality is so important. These are their stories.

“Nothing was ever given to me nor were the same privileges or opportunities provided to me as the majority of my male friends and coworkers.”

Growing up, I always competed and played sports with the “boys”.  I was labeled a tomboy at an early age mainly because I enjoyed the physical competition, and the atmosphere sports presented, and loved the athletic attire from sneakers and “basketball shorts”.  (In which till today has been “my story”). I was always surrounded by sports as several of my family members played professionally, coached, and frequently attended professional, college, high school, and recreational games.  

Title IX’s Personal Impact

Nothing was ever given to me nor were the same privileges or opportunities provided to me as the majority of my male friends and coworkers. I always had to work twice as hard as the men whom I at one point studied, competed, led, and interacted with. Title IX has always played a major influence in my life, that now as an adult in the workforce I can physically and mentally see and interpret how it has affected my life and the impact I have had on other women and girls in sports. Title IX has provided me the opportunity to now be able to dream big beyond what has always been presented to me, and also afforded me the opportunity to be able to be in the field of athletics and sports that traditionally has always been awarded to men. 

An Emerging Force in Sports

Currently as an African American female athletic director (first female AD at my school), in an urban public school district, and an NCAA Women’s basketball official (first all-female officiating crew to referee a VHSL boys high school state basketball championship), you rarely see “women” in these fields of sports. We were always labeled as just the physical education and/or health teachers, or just coaches of female sports. Now it’s becoming a growing trend, having women serve in athletic leadership roles, from GMs, Directors of Athletics and Operations, NBA and NFL officials.  Even today we have women serving as head and assistant coaches of men’s and women’s professional and prestigious college and university sports organizations.

Inclusion Spurs Growth

Having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in sports and athletic programs has enhanced and influenced an entire generation of females, that now women in sports can physically see the pathways in which the pioneers, such as Dawn Stanley, Venus, and Serena Williams, Shauntia Norfleet, Brehanna Daniels, Maia Chaka, Violet Palmer, Taiqua Stewart, Kiki Barnes, Candice Lee, myself and many, many others have paved the way for the younger generations to serve in any aspect of sports.     

Maximizing Every Girl’s Potential

As an athletic director, I have seen the enhancement of video and analytics for women in sports and how it has helped maximize my girl’s programs team’s performances, by providing the visuals to “teach” the game by breaking down film based on positions, calculating stats, conforming highlights for college recruiters and several other components.  Social media as well as other video software programs and cameras such as Pixellot has become the trend in my programs, where my coaches and players now ask me, “Did you set the camera?”.  The girls now look forward to sharing their highlights on their social media pages.  Coaches love it since it has cut down time on watching and breaking down film, leaving more time for practicing, and developing skills and fundamentals.