WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) demands that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Mountain West Conference uphold the integrity and future of women’s sports and stop forcing female collegiate athletes to either forfeit or accept unfair and unsafe competition. Independent Women’s Forum commends the University of Wyoming Cowgirls, Boise State University Broncos, and Southern Utah Thunderbirds for refusing to diminish the women’s volleyball category and play the San Jose State Spartans, which rosters a male.
These young women – and the coaches and administrators who support them – sacrificed their collegiate records and the benefits, including financial benefits, that accompany successful athletic seasons. Proceeding with an unfair competition would not only falsely legitimize San Jose State’s undefeated season, but it would put women at physical risk. It is un-American to force women to accept less because a male asserts a right to invade a female space, and Independent Women’s Forum condemns the athletic leadership that have put these women and school leaders in this position.
The stand taken by University of Wyoming, Boise State, and Southern Utah follows a growing chorus supporting fairness, safety, and privacy in women’s sports.
Independent Women’s Forum has been at the forefront coordinating NCAA female athletes to call upon the NCAA to repeal its discriminatory student-athlete participation policy that allows male athletes to compete in women’s sports — taking trophies, roster spots, playing time, resources, and opportunities from women. To date, IWF has activated more than 7,000 NCAA female athletes to write personalized letters to the NCAA Board of Governors demanding the NCAA protect women’s sports. Following the flood of letters, the NCAA reported in April that the policy was “under review” and that the NCAA would “continue to promote Title IX” and “ensure fair competition.” As of May, the NCAA stripped its website of Phase Three of its “Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Plans” implementation. But the policies remain going into the ‘24-’25 school year.
“For the last several years, women have been asking to be treated with dignity in athletics, and the NCAA has not listened. States have required protections, women have been paralyzed on the court and degraded in the locker room, the male advantage has been studied, and women’s groups have filed lawsuits, but still the NCAA has not listened,” said May Mailman, director of Independent Women’s Law Center. “Now, women are taking the next step and refusing to celebrate a dangerous, co-ed sport they never signed up for. That’s incredible. But if these women can take a stand for themselves, surely the adults who have previously benefited from fair competition can do the same.”
The NCAA’s disregard for its female athletes is the linchpin that enabled the systemic discrimination against women that has undermined women’s sports. Leaders at the NCAA and other sports associations are putting the burden on young women, coaches, and individual schools.
Independent Women’s Forum says this is wrong, and while women “won’t back down,” the organization reiterates its request to members of the NCAA Board of Governors to take immediate action to repeal its policy and return fairness to women’s sport.
Furthermore, IWF says the Mountain West Conference should not promote matches that fail to respect women’s sports. Until then, it says, the Mountain West Conference is currently failing in its mission to “cultivate opportunities for student-athletes” while fostering “sportsmanship.”
Learn more about Independent Women’s Forum’s work to protect women’s sports:
- Drove personalized letters from more than 7,000 NCAA female athletes to the NCAA Board of Governors calling on its members to amend the policies to protect the women’s collegiate sporting category.
- Led the Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour, traveling coast to coast, visiting 30 states in 30 days, featuring over 50 speakers including NCAA female athletes, renowned Olympicans and coaches to build upon the growing calls to restore fairness in women’s sports.
- IWF and Independent Women’s Law Center have produced a first-of-its-kind report entitled, “Competition Report: Title IX, Male-Bodied Athletes, and the Threat To Women’s Sports,” to help athletic associations, policymakers, and courts understand the growing threat to female athletes.
- IWF, alongside a coalition of women’s advocacy groups, led the second “Our Bodies, Our Sports” rally and protest outside the 2024 NCAA Convention. Learn more about the rally HERE.
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