Women rally in Charleston to ‘Take Back Title IX’

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — A group of coaches, female athletes and women’s advocates made a stop at a rally in Charleston Wednesday with the message to keep males out of female sports.

The event was part of a coast to coast summer tour from women’s advocacy coalition Our Bodies, Our Sports called “Take Back Title IX.”

WV Student Athlete Sabrina Shriver of Lincoln Middle School was there protesting competition with a male athlete at a girl’s championship.

“If something is wrong, then if you speak out, it can be changed, potentially fixed. And, you can give people voices and the courage to also speak out,” Shriver said.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was in attendance as well, arguing that the new Title IX rules strip away protections for women, including equal opportunity and privacy.

“The notion that these young women have to be competing against these bigger, stronger, more powerful biological males who call themselves female and then go change in the locker room, it’s just untenable,” DeVos said.

The Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition formed two years ago. It claims it is the country’s first and only coalition of women’s advocacy organizations from across the political spectrum fighting for equal opportunity and fairness in women’s sports.