Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP’s Post

Over a dozen female athletes are suing the NCAA over the inclusion of transgender competitors in women's sports. At the heart of the lawsuit is the case of Lia Thomas, whose dominance in NCAA swimming sparked controversy. This landmark legal action seeks to uphold fairness and equality in collegiate athletics.  What's your take on this? #FemaleAthletes #TransgenderAthletes #NCAA #SportsEquality #FairCompetition #AthleteRights

Wonderful news to share regarding United City FC Women's player Darielle O'Brien who joins Utah Royals in the NWSL as a national team replacement players. https://lnkd.in/gtgMNtHm United City FC Women is a development club for female players. When I started UCFC in 2019 I had a vision to build an academy style club where players were there based on talent, and not financial means. We wanted to be a club that helped female athletes who fell through the cracks or went unnoticed, players who could not afford to go to college, players from minority backgrouds, players who needed a second chance. Unlike all the pay-to-play clubs, we do not charge players to be at UCFC, we invest in players to move on. We want to be a blueprint for other clubs. We want to move the needle for women's soccer by showcasing talent that has typically been overlooked. We are United City FC.

🔥 “I am woman, hear me score.” - Dave Pell, Managing Editor of the Internet My Mother and I have a tradition of listening to NPR when I drive her to various doctors' appointments. We’ve probably clocked hundreds of hours together. This week, we tuned into NPR’s interview of Sue Bird, the best point guard in women's basketball history. She is also a 13-time WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) All-Star with five Olympic gold medals. Two things caught my attention: 1. WNBA players tend to come from marginalized groups and over-index on black and gay players. This may (partly) explain why women's basketball gets less press coverage and has a smaller audience. In other words, racism and LGBTQ bias are leading factors 😡. 2. The top WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) player makes $234k a year, while the top National Basketball Association (NBA) player makes $51 million—that's 218 times his female counterpart 🤯 . Sound familiar? How do we help our female players get their 💰💰💰? It's simple. We need to tune into their games and bring our family and friends along for the ride. More viewers = more advertisers = higher payout for players. 12.3 million people tuned in to watch the NCAA Tournament doubleheader on Monday, many of them specifically to watch Caitlin Clark. Can we turn this moment into a movement? #payequity #womenssports

More good news for #womenssports and #womenssoccer!

According to Sport England's Active Lives findings: 📉 Only 36% of Black girls in England are meeting recommended activity levels, compared to 48% of white girls 📉 The number of Black girls saying they enjoyed taking part in sport and physical activity has plummeted from 50% to 39%. Creating safe, inclusive spaces for Black women and girls to feel empowered and confident to move how they like is important. https://lnkd.in/e_bWB_U6

Working with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Strategy Working Group at Athletics Victoria has helped me find my deep purpose. Deep purpose contrasts with short-term or surface-level motivations. It's often associated with long-term fulfilment, resilience during challenges, and the ability to inspire others. Resonating deeply with the mantra ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ I think this group is a great representation of diverse voices in our sport. Our deep purpose goes beyond programs and competition. It’s about shaping a culture where everyone can thrive. Because when we create visibility, we create possibility. 💪 🌟

Another weekend passes by, and another idiot directs online racist abuse at a footballer. On this occasion, towards a young man who represented my club (Leyton Orient) with great distinction only last season. https://lnkd.in/eYC2uBiQ Co-incidentally, we've just released some polling examining how much of a problem the public considers racism to be within professional football in Britain today. There were some eye-opening findings, and not just because we "boosted" the numbers of ethnic minority Brits that we interviewed, so that we could form a clearer view of how their views differed from those of ethnically White Britons. Perhaps the most surprising - and alarming - discovery was that more than half (56%) of UK adults see racism as a significant problem in the game - and that rises to almost three-quarters (74%) of ethnic minority Brits. Football also comes off pretty badly in comparison with other major sports, though in my view this might be slightly unfair - the sport's higher profile overall and the fact that Black people in particular are better represented there than in cricket, tennis, rugby and golf, means that the subject is much more "top of mind" than is the case for these other sports. Please take a look at the report (and slides) on our website here: https://lnkd.in/eH-AvQ6Q The new government is about to move forward with the Football Governance Bill, which is expected to contain requirements for Clubs to report on what they're doing to improve equality, diversity and inclusion. This new survey reveals the extent to which the sport's reputation needs to be improved. More to follow... #racism #EDI #football #blackhistorymonth

Black British children have the most positive attitudes towards sport compared to their white peers... But Black British girls are still 11% less active than White British girls 🚨 Black girls are eager to take part in fun, accessible and inclusive sporting opportunities, but we’re not meeting them where they’re at. Somewhere in the process, systemic barriers are getting in the way and their specific needs are not being met, and it’s leading them to be less active. We must do better. The Black girls growing up in Britain need us to do better. 📊 Stats from Sport England’s Active Lives survey (2022/23) #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackWomenInSport #WomensSports

Did you know? - Black girls are more than 5 times as likely to be suspended from school compared to white girls. - Black girls are 7 times more likely to face multiple out-of-school suspensions compared to white girls. - Black girls are 3 times more likely to receive referrals to law enforcement compared to white girls. - Black girls are more likely to be punished for subjective infractions such as dress code infractions and insubordination compared to white girls. The disparate punishment of Black girls by mostly white teachers starts early, as young as age five. And we see these patterns of bias against Black women by mostly white rule enforcers in many other ways, including on the basketball court. This isn't ok, and we need to call it out when we see it.

Don't take it from us, take it from the legendary equality advocate Billie Jean King. 🎾 Having a board of directors that is only 12% diverse is preposterous. Especially considering ethnically-diverse boards are 13% more likely to outperform boards that aren't (according to McKinsey). Yes, we enlisted this tennis superstar to serve the facts of why we believe it's important to encourage more diversity in the boardrooms of publicly traded companies. For more hard-hitting facts served by BJK herself, and info on how we're teaming up to bring more e.l.f.ing diversity to US corporate boards to go: https://lnkd.in/eaY76xDs