On March 8, Concerned Women for America (CWA) leaders and Young Women for America (YWA) ambassadors, including 31x All American and 2x NCAA national champion swimmer Kylee Alons, stood boldly at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia demanding the NCAA abide by long-established protections established in Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.
Title IX prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in educational institutions receiving federal assistance. This landmark law has promoted opportunities for female student-athletes for decades, but today new policies allowing male athletes who self-identify as female threaten to undue this progress.
At the NCAA Division III indoor championships on Friday, a male-bodied athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology raced against a field of nationally-ranked female athletes in the 200-meter dash. “Sadie Rose” Schreiner was allowed to take a coveted spot on the national stage and compete for a national women’s title under the NCAA’s “transgender student-athlete participation policy,” which unjustly discriminates against female athletes.”
Rochester Institute of Technology rostered sophomore Schreiner on it’s women’s team this year following a season competing on its men’s team. After breaking records, being named “women’s track performer of the week,” and winning gold at the Atlantic regional championship, the NCAA selected trans-identifying male Schreiner to compete as a Top 20 contender in the women’s 200-meter dash.
CWA, YWA, and numerous other groups, including the U.S. chapter of Women’s Declaration International, the Women’s Liberation Front, Independent Women’s Network, and Independent Women’s Forum, under the Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition, rallied in protest to this grave injustice.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares was there to support women’s efforts to protect their rights in sports. His tireless leadership against the NCAA’s discriminatory policies in this and several other areas sends a clear message to the NCAA that trouble lies ahead should they continue to disregard the reasonable concerns of the hundreds of thousands of women we represent.
Read Kylee Alon’s and CWA’s comments from the press conference.
Read CBN’s coverage of the event here.
Following a press conference, the group went inside the arena to silently protest with signs and banners in solidarity of the female athletes enduring this discrimination in real-time.
Press Conference
Kylee Alons, 31x All American swimmer, 2x NCAA National Champion, and 5x ACC Champion, and Young Women for America ambassador.
Payton McNabb, severely injured by male player on the women’s volleyball team, left with permanent physical injuries and the accident stripped her from continuing to play sports, and Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador
Paula Scanlan (center), former University of Pennsylvania swimmer and Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador.
CWA of Virginia and CWA staff with Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Inside Auditorium
200-meter race where female athletes were forced to run against male athlete “Sadie Rose” Schreiner.
My Body My Sports allies stand in solidarity for female athletes running against male athlete “Sadie Rose” Schreiner in the 200-meter race.
If you want an example of the type of injustice that women are facing at the hands of the NCAA, take a look at this recent clip of Riley Gaines explaining to Joe Rogan what it was like to end up tied with Lia (previously Will) Thomas but being told the NCAA’s diversity goals demanded that Thomas was the one with the trophy.
