Athlete Ally Mobilizes the Sports Community for Women’s March on Washington
Athlete Ally was proud to mobilize the sports community to be part of the 500,000 plus people who descended on Washington D.C. for the #WomensMarch. Our group of Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic athletes showed the world that the athletic community will take a strong stand against the normalization of bias, bullying and discrimination.
“In recent years, we have witnessed the greatest expansion of athlete activism in modern history,” said Hudson Taylor, executive director of Athlete Ally. “Never before have we seen players, teams and leagues using their influence so regularly to champion equality for marginalized communities around our country. Unfortunately, it’s clear that we’ll need their voices now more than ever.”
Our group of athletes marching in Washington D.C. represented the very diversity that makes America so great. We were proud to have Paralympians marching with us to show that having a disability is something to be celebrated — not mocked by those whose privilege has elevated them into positions of power and authority.
We were inspired by the team at Shirzanan for their partnership in convening the group of Muslim athletes joining us, who are taking a bold stance against Islamophobia and the hateful rhetoric around registries and bans being propagated by our newly elected President.
We were motivated by the LGBT athletes who march to use their platform to advocate for the rights of the LGBT community each and every day.
We left the Women’s March empowered and inspired. We’re committed to working each and every day to empower athletes, teams and leagues to stand up and speak out in the face of hate and discrimination. Together, we’ll ensure that everyone is respected, protected and accepted in sports and under the law.