Sports - The Brown Daily Herald

University News

In new court filing, ACLU claims Brown breached Title IX agreement ‘and it continues to do so with every day that passes’

By Li Goldstein | September 9

In a brief filed Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island rebutted the University’s Sept. 2 court filing defending Brown’s compliance with Title IX regulations, which hold the University to standards set by the 1998 Cohen v. Brown University lawsuit. Brown demoted a number ...

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Sports

Brown denies allegation of noncompliance to Title IX commitment in new court filing

By Li Goldstein | September 2

In a new court filing Wednesday, the University denied claims that Brown has faltered in its commitment to Title IX compliance under regulations agreed upon in the 1998 Cohen v. Brown ruling. The University maintained that the decision to cut a number of athletics programs from the varsity roster this ...

Sports

Internal emails between Paxson, key administrators reveal desire to ‘get us out of’ 1998 Title IX consent decree

By Li Goldstein | August 27

Emails between University administrators released today reveal internal strategies regarding Title IX compliance and the recent demotion of several varsity teams. The June emails were sent prior to the reinstatement of men’s track, field and cross country teams and before a motion was filed later ...

Sports

Champa P'21: An Open Letter from a Parent to President Paxson on her Excellence in Athletics Initiative

By Michael Champa | July 11

President Paxson, there will be no winners in this dispute. During an intense and ongoing public debate, you have succeeded in destroying the athletic careers of the members of eight of Brown’s varsity teams. Amid a worldwide pandemic, nationwide racial strife and while carrying the banner of “excellence ...

University News

Ivy League cancels all fall sports competition

By Ryan Handel | July 8

The Ivy League canceled all fall athletic competition, according to an announcement released Wednesday afternoon. Winter sports will not begin until after Jan. 1. As each of the members schools announced plans and guidelines for the fall semester adjusted in light of COVID-19, and “as athletics ...

University News

New motion in 1998 Title IX suit alleges Brown violated settlement with recent varsity demotions

By Li Goldstein | June 29

Amy Cohen ’92 and a group of 12 other plaintiffs — all female athletes who collectively sued the University in 1998 for violating Title IX legislation protecting gender equity in athletics — are challenging the University in court for allegedly violating the terms of the original settlement. The ...

Sports

Women's team played crucial role in reinstating men's varsity track, field, cross country

By Li Goldstein | June 18

When athletes from the women’s track, field and cross country teams found out that their counterparts on the men’s teams had been demoted to the club level May 28, their first reaction wasn’t relief that they had been spared. Instead, they were devastated alongside their teammates, absorbing the ...

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Sports

Demoted athletes retain law firm, demand reinstatement

By Li Goldstein | June 18

A coalition of University student-athletes from teams recently demoted from varsity to club level have retained attorney Jeffrey Kessler of Chicago-based law firm Winston & Strawn in hopes of demanding reinstatement to the varsity roster. Kessler is a prominent lawyer specializing in antitrust ...

University News

Paxson and Hayes detail initial decision-making process behind Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative

By Ryan Handel | June 14

After the University announced last month that it would transition 11 varsity sports teams to club status and promote club co-ed sailing and women’s sailing to varsity, an outpouring of support flooded in for the demoted teams. President Christina Paxson P’19 addressed some of these concerns in ...

Sports

Demoted student-athletes weigh transfer option

By Will Kubzansky | June 11

Two weeks after losing their varsity status, over 100 former student-athletes now face a once-unfathomable choice: stay at Brown or continue their athletic careers at a different institution. President Christina Paxson P’19 announced June 9 that the men’s track, field and cross country teams would ...

Sports

Men’s Track & Field, Cross Country athletes, alums react to reinstatement

By Amelia Spalter | June 10

On Tuesday evening, President Christina Paxson P’19 released a statement reversing a May 28 decision to eliminate the Men’s Track and Field and Cross Country teams as part of the University’s Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative, which demoted 11 varsity teams to club status. While many ...

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Sports

Ten voices on varsity team cuts

By Former varsity student-athletes and alums | June 10

Following the University's decision to cut 11 teams as part of the Excellence in Brown Athletics initiative, The Herald invited 100-word submissions from individuals impacted by the decision. The opinions team selected and lightly edited 10 blurbs from former varsity student-athletes and alums on the ...

Sports

Letter: Coverage of Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative

By Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit | June 9

To the Editor: Thank you for your recent coverage of the University’s recent athletics decisions, as well as many reactions described in published opinion pieces. However, I wish that you had pushed President Christina Paxson P’19 just a little bit more in your interview with her for your recent ...

Sports

Men’s track, field and cross country reinstated as varsity sports

By Li Goldstein | June 9

The men’s track, field and cross country teams have been reinstated to the varsity roster, a reversal of their recent demotion to the club level, President Christina Paxson P’19 wrote in a community-wide email Tuesday night. The other eight teams that were demoted as part of the Excellence in Brown ...

Sports

O'Neil '16, Paul '19, McMahon '19: In Defense of Excellence and Equity in Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field

By Victoria O'Neil | June 8

As alumnae of the Brown Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams, we are writing in solidarity with current teammates on the Brown Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams whose collegiate athletic careers were abruptly terminated May 28, as announced in a community-wide email about ...

Sports

Sinai ’21 and Lee ’21: Put me (back) in, Coach: The suddenness of Brown’s sports cuts needlessly destroys athletic careers

By Nathan Sinai | June 7

As many may now know, on May 28 Brown University ended the athletic careers of 84 men and 65 women on a roughly six-minute Zoom call. The decision was swift, brutal and incontestable. By removing the varsity status of 11 sports teams without warning, Brown University has abandoned 149 students, including ...

Sports

Mackie '59 — An Open Letter to the Brown Community: The Price of Winning

By Peter Mackie | June 7

The May 28 announcement arrived without warning — a thunderbolt from above, striking the hearts of legions within the University athletic community. The hand-picked Committee on Excellence in Athletics, composed of seven alumni and trustees chosen in part because of their “capacity to make very ...

University News

Paxson addresses criticism of decision to demote 11 varsity sports

By Li Goldstein | June 6

President Christina Paxson P’19 addressed circulating concerns regarding the recent demotion of 11 varsity teams to club status in a community-wide email Saturday, offering greater detail about how the decision was made and the motivation behind it. The email follows an outpouring of criticism ...

Sports

Demoted varsity athletes petition Brown for reinstatement

By Li Goldstein | June 4

In response to the University’s recent announcement that 11 varsity teams would be demoted to the club level as part of a new Excellence in Brown Athletics initiative, student athletes have mobilized to organize their teammates, peers, parents and alumni networks to petition for more answers — and ...

Sports

From the Brown Women's Squash Team: President Paxson, Why Aren’t We Excellent?

By Abby Dichter | June 4

Who We Are We are two of five rising juniors on the Brown Women’s Varsity Squash team. We spent upwards of 10 years training with hopes of playing squash at a collegiate level. We have dedicated 20 hours a week for 25 weeks a year to train, travel and compete. At the same time, we are dedicated students ...