WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Independent Women, a nonprofit organization committed not only to moving the needle with women, but to making a difference on the issues that will move America, is in Washington D.C. with dozens of female athletes, coaches, and youth female athletes to celebrate the 39th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day and call upon elected leaders to advance measures to keep women’s sports female.
Independent Women has been a national leader in the fight for women’s sports — advancing its Stand With Women model legislation to define sex-based terms like ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in states, advocating for policies that keep men out of women’s sports, and holding events around the country featuring female athletes and coaches discussing first-hand experiences of blatant discrimination in their own sport, threats to privacy as men are entering locker rooms, severe injuries by male athletes on women’s teams, and the overall erasure of equality and fairness in women and girls in sports.
Independent Women has worked closely with federal lawmakers to advance the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Following the bill’s House passage on January 14, Independent Women Ambassador Riley Gaines joined Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Greg Steube for a press conference to celebrate this win for women and girls. Independent Women is now calling on the Senate to pass this common sense, pro-woman legislation.
Independent Women laid the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s executive order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government,” which clarifies sex-based words like ‘woman’, ‘man’, ‘female’ and ‘male.’ The day-one executive order upholds the legal existence of women as different from men –– a massive victory for women and girls throughout the nation.
President Trump is poised to sign an executive order aimed at protecting women’s sports today, February 5 – a huge win for female athletes throughout the nation. Independent Women ambassadors Riley Gaines, Payton McNabb, Paula Scanlan, Sia Liilii, Lauren Miller, Kim Russell, Kaitlynn Wheeler, Linnea Saltz, and Lily Mullens will join President Trump at the White House for the executive order signing.
Independent Women also recently led a demonstration inside the convention center at the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, renewing calls for the NCAA to end its anti-woman Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy. The controversial policy permits men who self-identify as women to participate in women’s collegiate sports — stripping trophies, roster spots, playing time, resources, and opportunities away from women and girls. In April, following a storm of 7,000 female athletes’ personal letters to the NCAA Board of Governors demanding the NCAA repeal its policies allowing men in women’s sports, the NCAA announced its policy was under review. New reports indicate the NCAA will adapt its policies following President Trump’s executive order is signed.
Riley Gaines, Independent Women ambassador and host of OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast, said: “National Girls and Women in Sports Day is incredibly special to me, more so now after experiencing the injustice of competing against a male firsthand and talking to hundreds of other female athletes and parents with similar stories. Who could have predicted back in 1987 when the day was created that we would be fighting to keep men out of women’s sports? Luckily, we now have a president in the White House that has already proven he stands with women and actually knows what a ‘woman’ is. I’m counting on the Senate to bring Sen. Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to a vote as soon as possible and send it on to the president’s desk.”
Payton McNabb, an Independent Women ambassador and former high school volleyball player who now suffers permanent injury as the result of a spike by a male competing on an opposing women’s volleyball team, said: “National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight and honor the athletic abilities and achievements of female athletes. I would still be playing sports today had a male not been playing on the opposing women’s volleyball team. February 5 and everyday we must stand up for women — we’ve come too far to be erased.”
Sia Liilii, an Independent Women ambassador and captain of the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team, said: “My teammates and I made the decision during our season to forfeit a volleyball match where we would have been across the net from a male opponent on the women’s team. Safety and fairness cannot take a back seat. We must always speak up and not be afraid to tell the truth.”
Lauren Miller, an ambassador for Independent Women and current pro-golfer, said: “It is essential that we stand up for safety, fairness, and equal athletic opportunities for female athletes. Fighting for every girl’s dream in this generation and the next is worth it. The LPGA and USGA answered our calls to prohibit men from qualifying and competing in women’s golf. Today, I’m calling on all other governing bodies of sport to follow suit.”
Kim Russell, an Independent Women ambassador and former Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Oberlin College, said: “I am incredibly grateful for the coaches I had throughout my athletic career, coaches I had the opportunity to coach with and against, and all of the coaches who contribute to the success of female athletes. Sports saved my life in so many ways, enabling me to have a lifetime career in athletics and to now be an advocate — speaking and standing up for women and girls.”
Paula Scanlan, an Independent Women ambassador and former University of Pennsylvania swimmer and teammate of Lia Thomas, said: “As someone who was directly impacted by a male athlete on my college women’s swim team, I know how important it is to preserve female-only sport and space. Current and future female athletes shouldn’t be subjected to what my teammates and I went through. Thankfully, the current administration is following through on promises to stop the insanity.”
Since 2021, Independent Women Features, the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, has elevated the voices of female athletes who have been discriminated against by the male takeover of female sports.
In January, IW Features told the story of Sia Liilii, captain of the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team. During the fall of 2024, the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team was scheduled to play the San José State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball team, which rosters a male athlete. Liilii led her teammates in making the decision to forfeit the match on October 26, 2024, over safety and fairness concerns with a male playing on the women’s team.
In December, IW Features released another documentary, “Kill Shot: How Payton Mcnabb Turned Tragedy into Triumph,” highlighting Independent Women ambassador Payton McNabb, a former three-sport high school athlete who was severely injured by a transgender-identified male athlete. The documentary includes raw footage of the kill shot to Payton’s head that has caused her to suffer traumatic, permanent damage.
IW Features’ “Tee Time: Keep Women’s Golf Female” docu-series also features stories from female golfers who have been forced to share the course with and compete against male golfers in the women’s division. Independent Women ambassadors Lauren Miller, Dana Fall, Hannah Arnold, and Amy Olson are featured in the series.
Check out more female athlete stories HERE.
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Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.