I'm posting this from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where boxer Laila Ali kicked off the SHARP Title IX at 40 conference at the University of Michigan, with a keynote speech about the importance of athletic opportunities for women and girls. For coverage of the speech, see here and here.
Also, ESPN-W has more good 40th anniversary coverage today, including a list of "Nine Ways for You to Celebrate Title IX" and this essay by Risa Isard called "An Everyday Athlete is Still an Athlete." This essay struck a personal chord with me due to the frequency I get asked, "oh, you write about Title IX -- were you an athlete?" I hate this question because it seems to equate "athlete" to "student-athlete" and suggests that an athlete identity is something an adult cannot have in the present tense -- an objectionable premise to me and my hockey and softball teammates and my fellow runners and cyclists.
Elsewhere in the media, Olympic and World Cut soccer player Tiffeny Millbret celebrates the 40th by reflecting in her local paper on the impact Title IX had on her life -- another good read.
From what I'm hearing here in Michigan, there's more good 40th anniversary coverage yet to come!
