WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 23rd, the 50th anniversary of Title IX, female athletes will join parents, advocates, and fourteen organizations from across the political spectrum to rally for “Our Bodies, Our Sports.” 

Since its passage, Title IX has transformed sports by guaranteeing women the right to equal athletic opportunities. 

Sadly today, countless female athletes are being sidelined in order to make room for males. This isn’t right, and it isn’t fair. 

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 (to rsvp, email [email protected])  
  • Doors open: 10:00 a.m. EDT

WHERE: Freedom Plaza (1325 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20004)
WHY: Celebrate 50 years of Title IX and advocate to keep women’s sports female

Athletes speaking at the event include:

Riley Gaines Barker, who tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships: “As a collegiate female athlete who got to firsthand witness and experience competing against a transgender athlete, I can confidently say the biological differences between males and females is evident and cannot be ignored when it comes athletics. If biological males continue to be allowed to compete with females, fair competition and the integrity of women sports is a thing of the past. I am participating in this rally to stand up for myself, others who are afraid to use their voice, for past female athletes who fought so hard to get equal opportunities in sports, and for the future female athletes who will lose athletic opportunities if this madness continues.”

Taylor Silverman, a skateboarder who lost first place to a male competitor in the Red Bull Cornerstone Contest: “I have always recognized that biological men competing in women’s sports is unfair. When I was directly impacted by this in skateboarding I felt a moral obligation to speak up. I feel honored to attend this rally and use my voice to stand up for what’s right. Women deserve equal opportunity and fairness in sports and we cannot achieve that while allowing biological men to compete in women’s divisions.”

Cynthia Monteleone, a world champion track athlete specializing in the 400m: “Instead of getting on a plane to represent Team USA at my World Championship meet, I’m getting on a plane to be a part of the ‘Our Body, Our Sports’ rally in Washington DC on June 23rd. I am protesting my meet and the WMA for once again allowing male bodied athletes to compete in the female category at the Championships. How can I even value a medal from a competition that does not offer a fair playing field? If we don’t have fairness in sports, we don’t have sports. I stand strong for female athletes everywhere and demand fair single sex competitions that provide the very opportunities Title IX was founded for.” 

Kim Jones, former All-American tennis player, mother of an Ivy League swimmer and co-founder of Independent Council on Women’s Sports: “This year, I witnessed first hand the damage that occurs when we blur the definition of woman as I watched my daughter and other female collegiate swimmers face Lia Thomas, the first male swimmer in Women’s NCAA swimming. I saw young women gaslighted and shamed from speaking out about their abuse and betrayal at the hands of the NCAA and the Ivy League. I saw tears, frustration, silence, lost records, and lost opportunities as people in power looked away and used the word ‘inclusion’ as a vehicle to deliver the damaging blows of sex-based discrimination at women.”

Marshi Smith, a former collegiate athlete and co-founder of Independent Council on Women’s Sports: “As a former NCAA champion and collegiate swim team captain, I feel responsibility to the next generation of women athletes to fight for the opportunities that were available to me and recently taken from them. True equality with my male teammates only came when I was judged against competitors in my same sex-based category.”

Additional athletes include:

  • 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. 

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
  • And more!

SPONSORS:

For press inquiries, contact [email protected].

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