Female Athletes Rally for Women's Only Sports on 50th Anniversary of Title IX

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Jun 08, 2022, 10:03 ET

Let's Keep Women's Sports Female

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 23, female athletes, parents, and advocates will join fourteen organizations from across the political spectrum to rally for "Our Bodies, Our Sports." June 23rd marks the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the federal civil rights rights law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.

Since its passing in 1972, Title IX has transformed sports by guaranteeing women the right to equal athletic opportunities. Before Title IX, only one in 27 girls participated in sports. Today, two in five do. Despite this progress, female athletes are being sidelined in order to make room for males. This isn't right, and it isn't fair. It's time to take back Title IX.

Independent Women's Forum, Women's Liberation Front, the Heritage Foundation, Women's Declaration International USA Chapter, Concerned Women for America, ICONS, Save Women's Sports, Alliance Defending Freedom, Independent Women's Voice, Family Policy Alliance, and several other organizations are sponsoring the rally to celebrate female athletes and to highlight the need to preserve single-sex athletic competition.

The rally will take place at 11:00 a.m. ET at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Rally for "Our Body, Our Sports" to celebrate female athletes and single-sex competition
WHEN: June 23, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. EDT

Press arrival: 9:00 a.m. EDT
Doors open: 10:00 a.m. EDT

WHERE: Freedom Plaza (1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004)
WHY: Celebrate 50 years of Title IX and advocate to keep women's sports female

Athletes in attendance will include:

Cynthia Monteleone, Team USA world champion track athlete who competed against a transgender athlete at the World Championship
Taylor Silverman, professional skateboarder who competed against transgender athlete Lillian Gallagher at the Red Bull Cornerstone competition
Kim Jones, former All-American tennis player, mother of Ivy League swimmer, and co-founder of Independent Council of Women's Sports (ICONS)
Marshi Smith, former University of Arizona swimmer, NCAA and PAC-10 champion, and co-founder of Independent Council of Women's Sports (ICONS)
Inga Thompson, 3x Olympic cyclist who competed when there were no women's teams
Chelsea Mitchell, top high school runner who lost four state championships, two all-New England awards, and additional other honors to male-bodied competitors, and her mother, Christy Mitchell
Madison Kenyon, Idaho State NCAA athlete who competed against male athlete in college track, standing up to defend Idaho's Fairness in Women's Sports Act
Mary Marshall, Idaho State NCAA athlete who competed against male athlete in college track, standing up to defend Idaho's Fairness in Women's Sports Act
Alanna Smith, Connecticut track athlete who lost to male athletes in high school, and her mother, Cheryl Radachowsky
Selina Soule, Connecticut track athlete who lost out on placements and opportunities to advance because she was forced to compete against male athletes
Macy Petty, NCAA scholarshipped athlete (volleyball) and Young Women for America leader
Chloe Satterfield, freshman at Georgia Tech who competed against a male identifying as female her senior year and lost. He was a freshman.
And more!

Additional rally participants include:

Tulsi Gabbard, Former U.S. Representative (D-HI), original sponsor of the Protect Women's Sports Act
Candice Jackson, Former Deputy General Counsel, Department of Education
Rep. Barbara Ehardt, Idaho State Representative; original sponsor Fairness in Women's Sports Act; former Idaho State athlete and 15-year NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Coach
Carrie Lukas, President, Independent Women's Forum
Penny Nance, CEO and President, Concerned Women for America
Amanda Houdeschell, Volunteer, Member, & Events Manager, Women's Liberation Front (WoLF)
Nicole Hudgens, Government Affairs, Family Policy Alliance
Annabelle Rutledge, National Director, Young Women for America
Kara Dansky, President, Women's Declaration International USA Chapter
Jennifer C. Braceras, Director, Independent Women's Law Center
Sarah Parshall Perry, Senior Legal Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Christiana Kiefer, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies, Family Research Council
Beth Stelzer, Founder, Save Women's Sports
Maud Maron, New York Democrat for Congress
Lauren Levey, Women's rights and lesbian rights activist; Co-founder, Sirens Women's Motorcycle Club in New York City; Vice President, Women's Declaration International USA Chapter
And more!