Watch Me Play

On June 21st, Nike and the United States Womens National Team threw down in NYC to unveil the new WNT Gold Kitand celebrate the 35th anniversary of Title IX. While the kit speaks for itself, we wanted to school you a bit on the history of this groundbreaking piece of Civil Rights legislation, one that provides young American girls with an equal opportunity to participate in the classroom, on the stage, and between the end lines. Read in full:

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

"Nike’s said it in the past, and we’ll say it again: a girl who plays, wins, no matter the score." - Cat Whitehill

35 years of 37 words. That means recruitment, admissions, employment, course offerings, sexual harassment, scholarships, financial aid, facilities, teams—the whole shebang. Title IX isn’t just about intercollegiate athletics, and you’ll notice that the law itself makes no specific mention of sports or football or cutting men’s programs. There’s a lot to improve, but the central word here remains “discrimination,” and it’s also the salient issue. Women have an equal right to an education in medicine, engineering, basketball or soccer, no matter how many female scientists have gone on to become Nobel Prize winners or how much revenue a girls soccer team generates. Throw the past and the idea of professionalism out the window for a minute. What would you want for your sister, your daughter, or yourself?

In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, stalwart US WNT defender and Gold Medalist Cat Reddick vowed, “The most important experiences to me have nothing to do with championships or medals. The best things I’ve gained from playing sports are the same things that any girl can gain by simply participating.” Confidence, camaraderie, health, hard work and perseverance. Nike’s said it in the past, and we’ll say it again: a girl who plays, wins, no matter the score. Cat’s right on point when she advises, “This is not the time to weaken the rule of fair play.”

The US WNT program is as dominant as it is in large part to Title IX, and when they take the field this September in China, they’ll be competing on its behalf.