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TUNE IN: X SPACE
THURSDAY
April 25, 2024
4:00 pm ET
Today, the NCAA Board of Governors meets amid growing pressure to protect women’s collegiate sports. A discussion with female athletes as it happens.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, members of the media are encouraged to cover and participate in an X Space conversation led by former Olympians and NCAA athletes on protecting the female sporting category. The event will be hosted by Our Bodies, Our Sports, the nation’s leading coalition of women’s advocacy organizations fighting for equal opportunity and fairness in women’s sports.
Over the past week, the NCAA Board of Governors, which is meeting today, has received personalized letters from over 7,000 female NCAA athletes urging the organization to repeal discriminatory policies that allow male bodies to roster on women’s collegiate teams and take playing time, opportunities to compete, and scholarships from female athletes.
Details:
WHO:
Speakers:
- Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, founding member of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group
- Riley Gaines, 12x All American swimmer, 5x SEC Champion and record holder, Independent Women’s Forum ambassador, and host of “Gaines for Girls” on OutKick
- Donna de Varona, Olympic Champion, Swimming, 17-year President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, Emmy Award Winning Sports Broadcaster, founding member, Women’s Sports Policy Working Group
- Coach Sylvia Hatchell, former UNC-Chapel Hill Basketball Coach, fifth most career wins in NCAA history, former USA Basketball Team Assistant and Head Coach
- Nancy Hogshead, J.D., Olympic Champion swimmer, Civil Rights Lawyer, CEO of Champion Women, providing legal advocacy for girls and women in sports, and founding member of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group
- Inga Thompson, a 10x US National Champion, 3x Olympian, 3x medalist World Championships, and 2x podium finisher in the Women’s Tour de France and founder of the Inga Thompson Foundation
- Macy Petty, NCAA volleyball player and Young Women for America ambassador
- Marshi Smith, former NCAA and PAC-10 Champion swimmer from the University of Arizona, and co-founder of Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS)
- Coach Kim Russell, former Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Oberlin College and Independent Women’s Forum ambassador
- Megan Burke, 2x NCAA Champion, track and cross country athlete from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Independent Women’s Network chapter leader
- Coach Jamie Holmes, former Head Volleyball Coach at UC Davis
- Madisan DeBos, Southern Utah University D1 cross country and track athlete whose relay team competed against a male athlete
- Coach Barbara Ehardt, former 15-year career NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach; former NCAA basketball player; and current member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 33rd district
- Linnea Saltz, former NCAA track & field athlete from Southern Utah University who competed against June Eastwood, the first male athlete identifying as female to compete in DI cross country
- Kara Dansky, president of Women’s Declaration International USA
- Jennifer C. Braceras, vice president for legal affairs at Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and founder of Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC)
- And more!
Moderators:
- Adriana McLamb, Spokeswoman for Independent Women’s Forum, former Division 1 volleyball player, and now coach and recruiter to aspiring collegiate female volleyball players
- Victoria Coley, VP of Communications for Independent Women’s Forum
WHAT: Female Athletes Demand The NCAA Protect Women’s Sports, Hosted by Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition on X Space
Members of the media are encouraged to ask the female athlete speakers questions.
WHEN: Thursday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: X Space, Click here To Join
WHY:
Members of the NCAA Board of Governors meet today, Thursday, April 25. The NCAA has a short window of opportunity to lead on the issue of sex equality. On March 14, 2024, female athletes filed a first of its kind lawsuit against the NCAA, arguing that the organization’s trans inclusion policy discriminates against women in violation of Title IX. (Gaines et al v NCAA et al). Shortly thereafter, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) unanimously voted to prohibit males in women’s sports. The lawsuit, the policy change by the NAIA, and the emails and letters from thousands of concerned female athletes have created mounting pressure on the nation’s largest collegiate sport governing body to repeal its current policy, which allows males who identify as women to play women’s sports, so long as their levels of testosterone meet sport-specific requirements.
The NCAA adopted this policy, which contradicts scientific studies showing that testosterone suppression cannot eliminate the male athletic advantage, without the input of female athletes or advocates for the female sporting category.
Most significantly, the policy sidelines female athletes in direct contradiction of legal obligations of colleges and universities to provide males and females with equal athletic opportunities.
The organizations that make up the Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition do not accept this and are sharing their members’ personal experiences and concerns and demanding that the NCAA protect women’s collegiate sports.
Direct all press inquiries to [email protected]
Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition:
Independent Women’s Forum (IWF)
Women’s Sports Policy Working Group
Champion Women
Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS)
US Chapter of Women’s Declaration International (WDI USA)
Concerned Women for America (CWA)
Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF)
Independent Women’s Voice (IWV)
Young Women for America (YWA)
Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC)
International Consortium on Female Sports (ICFS)
Independent Women’s Network (IWN)
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