Speak up: Is cheerleading really a sport?

Do you think competitive cheerleading is a sport?

If not, there's a federal judge in Connecticut who agrees with you.

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled yesterday that competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements.

Quinnipiac University in Connecticut was sued by some of its volleyball players after the university tried to cut their sport and replace it with competitive cheer, reported the Associated Press.

The school contended the cheer squad would help it maintain its Title IX compliance.

The judge ordered the school to keep its women's volleyball team.

Title IX is the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions under the Educational Amendments Act of 1972.

The judge's decision sparked the following strong statement from Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom:

"From the start, Title IX has been an unnecessary and destructive imposition of government and bureaucracy into college sports, substituting regulation and litigation for the free choices of women and men. But yesterday’s ruling that competitive cheerleading isn’t a sport reaches the height of absurdity.

“First, tell participants in competitive cheer that it isn’t a sport – they likely disagree.

“More importantly, when judges rule on what does or does not constitute a sport, we have clearly given up way too much freedom in our society.

“Finally, the very basis for Title IX — the notion that women will be kept out of sports by misogynistic colleges — makes little sense. Women make up the very large majority of college students and schools will keep women's sports...at least if they want to keep women on their campuses."

I have to agree with some of McCluskey's commentary. This decision seems to fly in the face of promoting equality for anyone. Competitive cheer is clearly an athletic activity that happens to be favored by females, but it's not a real sport?

The guy with the gavel has a little too much power here, as far as I'm concerned.

Still, I think there might be places outside of college sports, perhaps in the high schools, where Title IX protections are still warranted. I also have to wonder if we'd have the types of women's sports we have today if Title IX had never been put in place. - Maureen Dolan

So, readers. What do you think?