Female athlete, teachers seek to protect fairness, free speech in federal court

WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys

WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in State of Tennessee v. Cardona

WHEN:Immediately following hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. EDT, Monday, June 10

WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 101 Barr St., Lexington. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Deputy Director of Media Relations AnnMarie Pariseau at (480) 417-3975.

LEXINGTON , Ky. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a West Virginia high-school female athlete and Christian Educators Association International will be available for media interviews Monday following oral arguments in federal district court in State of Tennessee v. Cardona.

ADF attorneys are asking the court to immediately halt the Biden administration’s efforts to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity” before that change goes into effect on Aug. 1. The requested stay would put the administration’s new changes on hold while the case proceeds.

“The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex will upend the equal opportunities that women and girls have enjoyed for 50 years under Title IX and will threaten their safety and privacy at every level,” said ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton, who will be arguing before the court. “While the administration claims this change won’t affect sports, it has already made its position clear that men who identify as women should compete in women’s sports under Title IX. Our female athlete client has already suffered the humiliation and indignity of being harassed by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. No one else should have to go through that. We are urging the court to uphold safety and fairness for those impacted by the administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX.”

The client is a 15-year-old girl from West Virginia who was forced to compete against a male athlete on her middle school track-and-field team. The male displaced her several times, even taking away her spot to compete in a conference championship. This male was given access to the girls’ locker room, and the client had to endure vulgar, sexual comments that the athlete directed at her. In the three years the male athlete has competed on the girls’ team, the athlete has finished ahead of almost 300 female competitors.

ADF attorneys also note that Tennessee and Kentucky have laws that would protect the privacy and free speech of teachers who are members of Christian Educators Association International and teach in schools covered by Title IX. But those state laws and the protection they provide both ADF clients and people like them would be wiped away by the administration’s new Title IX rules.

Following publication of the Biden administration’s rule change on April 29, ADF attorneys have filed their own lawsuits and have joined multiple states in different lawsuits challenging the redefinition of “sex” in Title IX.

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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