Background
How to contact your Senator
Sample Text
Background
On March 3, 2025, all Democratic Senators, except two who did not vote, voted against cloture on S.9, the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.” (Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) did not vote.) This meant the bill, a straightforward fix of Title IX to return it to its original intent, died in the Senate. But Title IX is too important to be left in limbo. As Doriane Lambelet Coleman and her colleagues concluded in their analysis of the Title IX athletics provisions:
“Title IX expresses society’s commitment to sex equality in educational settings. At the time of the statute’s enactment in 1972, this commitment was revolutionary. Today, in no small part because Americans across the political spectrum are invested in the goal, Title IX’s value is mostly a given. From the focus on increasing the numbers of women in STEM to the effort to eradicate the conditions that enable sexual assault, the idea that women belong as equals on campus persists. Notably, the commitment to this idea is not merely normative. As Nicholas Kristof wrote in his year-end column for the New York Times in 2019, “few forces change the world so much as education and the empowerment of Women.”
The most common claims made in opposition to Title IX’s protection of the female category in sport are not fact, but myth. For further detail, including source citations, see ROAR Women NYC’s Resource Page, “MYTH vs. FACT: Women’s Sports.”
Mariah Burton Nelson, a member of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, has written an eloquent piece that you can find here. As she writes in her closing to that piece: “Fairness + Decency. We can hold both things.”
How to contact your Senator
Step 1: New York senators are listed here. If you do not live in New York, you can use the Find Your Senator menu at the top of the screen.
Step 2: Click on the ‘Contact’ button under each senators’ name and photo. This will take you to their contact page.
For your convenience, here are links to the New York Senators’ contact pages:
Step 3: Draft and send your message.
We’ve provided this sample message you can start with. Please feel free to add other resources or recount your own personal experiences—our template is intended to inspire you and get you going!
Sample Text
Subject: Please convene a meeting with the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group ASAP
Dear [Senator]:
I am your constituent and a lifelong Democrat. I am severely disappointed that you voted against cloture on S. 9, the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.” Your vote was out of step with the will of the vast majority of Democrats, including me. I write now because you still have a chance to get this right, by convening a meeting with the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group.
The members of the Working Group are serious and knowledgeable. They include tennis champion Martina Navratilova, Olympians Donna de Varona and Nancy Hogshead-Makar, J.D., Title IX pioneer Donna A Lopiano, Ph.D., Running USA Hall of Champions Inductee Tracy Sundlun and pioneering sportswriter and Stanford and pro basketball player Mariah Burton Nelson, M.P.H.
The Working Group has worked hard on Title IX athletics issues for years. The group has the relevant research at its fingertips and a complete understanding of the issues involved. Most importantly, the group knows how to arrive at fair and compassionate solutions. Help is at hand—please use it. You cannot punt this to the local level, because the fundamental problem lies in interpretation of Title IX.
Safe and fair athletic competition for girls and women was a clear goal of Title IX. That goal has been severely undermined. To date, more than 6,000 top three finishes in female sport have been won by males who were allowed entry into the female category. Girls and women are being robbed of their dignity, privacy and safety, both on the playing field and off.
None of this means males cannot play sports. They can. Meet with the Working Group. It will show you how it can be done.
Sincerely,
[insert your name]
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