Female athletes take stand for fairness at NCAA Convention rally

WHO:  Blake Allen and Lainey Armistead, female athletes represented by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys in Allen v. Millington and B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, respectively

WHAT:  Speaking at the “Tell the NCAA: Stop Discriminating Against Female Athletes” rally

WHEN:  Immediately following rally, which begins at 9 a.m. CST, Thursday, Jan. 12

WHERE:  Outside of the NCAA Convention, Henry B. González Convention Center, corner of E. Market St. and Tower of the Americas Way, San Antonio. To schedule a media interview, contact ADF Media Relations Manager Ellie Wittman at (202) 503-7984.

SAN ANTONIO – Female athletes Blake Allen and Lainey Armistead will be available for media interviews Thursday after speaking at a rally outside the NCAA’s annual convention. The rally, titled “Tell the NCAA: Stop Discriminating Against Female Athletes,” urges the organization, as the governing body for collegiate sports, to stop discriminating against female athletes.

The NCAA allows males who identify as females to compete on women’s sports teams as long as their levels of testosterone meet certain sport-specific requirements, even though studies show that no amount of testosterone suppression will eliminate the physical advantage of males.

“Female athletes have fought long and hard for equal opportunities, and they deserve to compete on a level playing field. Men and women are different, and those real physical differences make it unfair to force women and girls to compete against bigger, faster, and stronger males,” said ADF Senior Counsel Christiana Kiefer. “For 50 years, Title IX has protected female athletes like Blake and Lainey so that they can compete and win. But the NCAA’s regressive policies ignore biological reality and harm women. We are calling on the NCAA to stop discriminating against female athletes and establish policies to protect women’s sports.”

Allen, a freshman volleyball player at Randolph Union High School in Vermont, and her father, Travis Allen, filed a lawsuit, Allen v. Millington, against school officials after they punished the father and daughter for calling a male student “a dude” and using male pronouns when expressing their view that the male student should not be allowed to change in the girls’ locker room.

Armistead, a former West Virginia State University soccer player, intervened in the lawsuit B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education to defend West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act. Last Thursday, a federal district court upheld that law, rejecting a legal challenge that would have undermined women’s sports in the state by allowing males who identify as female to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.

In addition to Allen and Armistead, other current and veteran female athletes who will be speaking at the rally include Riley Gaines, Adriana McLamb, Kim Jones, Macy Petty, Barbara Ehardt, Marshi Smith, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, and others. Following the rally, the supporters will hand-deliver a petition to the NCAA signed by thousands of people across the country.

• Pronunciation guide: Kiefer (KEE’-fur)

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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