ADF joins letter to NCAA urging fairness, equality in women's sports
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Christiana Kiefer regarding a letter women’s sports advocates sent to the NCAA Thursday urging them to “take direct and immediate action to establish rules to keep women’s collegiate sports female”:
“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. For 50 years, Title IX has protected female athletes 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.”
The letter, led by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, states how, “In the world of college sports, it is impossible to provide equal opportunities for both sexes (as required by Title IX) without female-only teams. Yet the NCAA implements and perpetuates a policy of allowing male athletes on women’s teams, even as sports governing bodies and federal courts increasingly reject these unjust and inequitable policies that exclude young women from their own teams.”
- 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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ABOUT Christiana Kiefer
Christiana Kiefer serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is a key member of the Center for Conscience Initiatives. Since joining ADF in 2012, Kiefer has worked to protect women's and girls' sports and has defended the bodily privacy rights of students. She has also worked to protect the constitutionally protected freedom of churches, Christian schools, and Christian ministries to exercise their faith without government interference. Kiefer earned her J.D. in 2010 from Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy, where she graduated first in her class and served as a teaching assistant in criminal law. Also in 2010, Kiefer completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow. She is admitted to the state bar of California, the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous federal district and appellate courts.