New York State high school athletes are being urged to walk off playing fields on Thursday, October 24th — “Walk Off for Fairness Day” — to protest the continuing efforts to end girls-only sports in New York, the nonpartisan ballot issue committee, Coalition to Protect Kids – NY, which is organizing the #GirlCott, t announced.
The Coalition is urging female athletes, and males who want to stand with them, to skip practices and games that day to raise awareness about two separate and imminent threats to Girls and Women’s Sports in New York: the ongoing effort by the State Board of Regents to combine Girls and Boys High School Sports, and Prop 1, a 2024 statewide Constitutional ballot amendment that would almost certainly lay the groundwork for biological males gaining a permanent right to compete on girls teams, despite their clear physical advantages.
“Girls are being systematically canceled in this state, and ‘Walk Off for Fairness Day’ will give them a safe opportunity to make their voices heard,” said Coalition to Protect Kids – NY spokeswoman Ayesha Kreutz. “So many of these young women are afraid of speaking out, so they’re forced to watch as 50 years of female athletic progress gets washed away by destructive ideologues. Girls are not second class citizens, so why are they being treated that way?”
In April 2024 the NYS Department of Education issued draft guidance allowing boys on Girls Sports teams based on their chosen gender. It also allows boys – regardless of their gender choice – to play on girls’ teams if the school fails to offer a boys’ team in a selected sport. If Prop 1 passes on November 5th, these regulations could likely gain permanent NYS constitutional backing, the Coalition notes.
“New Yorkers know what’s happening to Girls Sports isn’t fair,” said Tamara Marcella of Staying Woman TMM Global, a Coalition partner. “Indeed, 66% recently polled (Siena) want girls-only sports preserved in the state. They aren’t anti-anyone; they’re simply pro-Girl, and that should be enough.”
Visit protectkidsny.com for more information.