Pregnant athletes at center of debate

The timing wasn't the greatest, as is sometimes the case when it comes to the discovery of a pregnancy.

It was January of Jia Perkins' senior year at Texas Tech, and the Big 12 portion of the basketball team's schedule was about to begin.

The night before the Lady Raiders were to play a big game on ESPN, Perkins told her parents about her pregnancy. She wanted to play in the big game and then tell her coaches and teammates afterward.

But her parents insisted that she not play a second more of basketball.

"I had known about (the pregnancy) for a while, but I wasn't quite ready to come out with it because I knew I would be letting down my parents and my team," said Perkins, an all-Big 12 selection who is now a guard for the Chicago Sky. "But my parents were very supportive. And my teammates were very supportive.

"My teammates even threw me a baby shower. They brought me food. They were there if I needed them. They knew stuff like that happens."

Perkins says her coaches didn't seem to be quite as understanding. She recently talked to former Texas Tech head coach Marsha Sharp for the very first time since telling her the news of the pregnancy.

Perkins' daughter Aalirah is now 3.

"(Coach Sharp) wasn't very happy and it took her awhile to get over it," Perkins said. "I can understand where she was coming from, though. There are ways to prevent this from happening and I didn't take any measures and I think she was upset at that."

But not upset enough to yank Perkins' scholarship.

Perkins never played again for Texas Tech, but she was allowed to finish out her classes over the next few months and graduate on time.

Not every female collegiate athlete who finds herself in the same predicament is as lucky.

In May, the ESPN show "Outside the Lines" aired a report about female athletes at the University of Memphis who lost their scholarships because they became pregnant. The same report cited that at least seven current or recently graduated student-athletes from Clemson terminated their pregnancies out of fear of losing their scholarships.

Not surprisingly, the show created quite a buzz, and now change seems to be on the horizon.

The NCAA has no official policies regarding pregnant student-athletes. It essentially defers to its member institutions on the matter.

But two weeks ago, a Division I panel approved a proposal that will ban schools from cutting financial aid to athletes for any injury or medical condition, including pregnancy and eating disorders.

The proposal is now up for review by the Division I Management Council as an amendment to the NCAA bylaws.

Of course, this news also has people buzzing -- and I can see both sides.

There's the argument that female athletes who get pregnant and are unable to compete shouldn't be subsidized by universities because having unprotected sex is an irresponsible choice, especially considering their privileged position and their obligation to their universities.

"I was basically doing something I really shouldn't have been doing in the first place," Perkins admitted. "Especially with my beliefs now, I really don't think it was right for me to be doing that.

"If I would have been responsible, this wouldn't have happened."

But plenty of college athletes do irresponsible things. They might drink at a party and then get hurt in a car accident. They might get hurt while water skiing or snow boarding.

But they probably wouldn't lose their scholarships like Cassandra Harding, a member of the Memphis track team, did when she revealed that she was pregnant.

Harding said that she and the other women on the team were required to sign a paper indicating that they understood their scholarships would be revoked if they got pregnant.

Gender equity experts insist that this is a blatant violation of Title IX, which indicates that institutions can't discriminate against a student because of a pregnancy.

"I think that if an institution is applying a piece of paper to female athletes and not to male athletes, there is clearly discrimination going on," Beth Sorensen, a college professor and advocate for pregnant women, told "Outside the Lines."

Good point.

Is it really fair that female athletes are the only ones paying a price for unplanned pregnancies? After all, it takes two to tango, and plenty of male athletes at the college level are becoming fathers while they still have eligibility left.

Now sure, that doesn't prevent them from using their bodies to fulfill their obligations to the team. But perhaps it should.

Maybe their babies, girlfriends -- and society in general -- would be better served if they were out earning a paycheck rather than practicing with the team.

See. This whole thing gets sticky, doesn't it?

What to do, what to do, what to do?

What really is fair?

"I'm glad I don't have to make that decision," Perkins said. "But I think the universities should let the women finish out their scholarships and, in the very least, finish out the year.

"I'm so glad I was able to finish my senior year. Being able to finish school was my biggest worry."

Perkins says her biggest regret at the time was not being able to finish out her career the way she knew she could.

"I don't have any regrets now, though," Perkins said. "When I look at my daughter, I consider her a blessing and I'm very happy with the decision I made."