Since its inception over
four decades ago, Title IX has popularly been associated with women’s
athletics. Billie Jean King, tennis great and founder of Women’s Sports
Foundation, has said that Title IX created “an infrastructure for women to
pursue their passion in sports.” Recently, headlines about Title IX have taken
a sharp turn. Consider Rolling Stone’s botched
expose of the University of Virginia’s investigation of a freshman’s allegation
of sexual assault and the February 2016 federal suit filed against the
University of Tennessee alleging two decades of violations of Title IX. Title
IX is now frequently associated with sexual harassment litigation on college
campuses and in public schools. This article addresses sexual harassment under
Title IX and what every defense lawyer should know about Title IX private
causes of action.