ACLU Launches “More Than A Game” Campaign in Support of Transgender Youth Ahead of Landmark Supreme Court Cases | American Civil Liberties Union
NEW YORK – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union announced the launch of More Than A Game, a national public awareness campaign in support of transgender youth and their families and rejecting political efforts to divide women and girls. Ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox — two cases challenging state laws that ban transgender girls from participating in school sports — More Than A Game responds with a powerful message of unity, fairness, and shared values featuring prominent public figures such as Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Elliot Page, Brianna Turner, Naomi Watts, and a group of young people, including the lead plaintiff in one of the cases, among others.
The More Than A Game campaign will launch with its first ad buys during the Unrivaled women’s basketball series on January 12 and will continue through in-person activations at Unrivaled playoff games in Miami in early March, featuring a 30-second ad with athletes, celebrities, artists, advocates and youth, both cisgender and transgender.
“This week the Supreme Court is set to consider a case that will have major implications for women’s sports, civil rights and the future of our country,” said U.S. Women’s National Team legend and two-time World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe. “I am not going to be tricked into sacrificing hard fought civil rights protections because of anti-trans rhetoric. All women will be harmed if the Court rules against the young trans people at the center of these cases and I wanted to make unambiguously clear that I am on the side of equality and justice.”
The campaign features exclusive merchandise designed by award-winning fashion designer and ACLU Artist Ambassador Willy Chavarria. The photos were captured by artist and fashion photographer Collier Schorr and videography captured by Sundance award-winning writer and director Alessandra Lacorazza.
Watch the first More Than A Game ad here.
From left to right: Megan Rapinoe, Becky Pepper-Jackson, Sue Bird
“The very same people attacking trans kids are working to undermine equal pay for women athletes, reproductive health care, and the promise of our civil rights laws,” said WNBA legend and 13-time All-Star Sue Bird. “I joined this campaign because I know how much it means for kids to get to play sports but also because I believe in exposing the lie that women are protected when we turn against each other. Today, tomorrow and every day, I am on the side of equality for all, including our trans siblings.”
“This moment in our country’s history is a test of our willingness to stand up and speak out for the most vulnerable,” said Chase Strangio, Co-Director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. “And while we will absolutely defend our rights and our humanity in the courts, we know that transgender people’s path out of this moment of crisis will also require a broad, diverse coalition leading change in our communities and our culture. More Than A Game is our rejection of the efforts to divide us against one another and is instead a call for the unity we need to defend the freedom we deserve on and off the field.”
Over the last six years, transgender people and their families have been targeted by politicians seeking to censor their speech, ban their health care, and push them out of public life entirely. On January 13, the Supreme Court will hear cases about laws in Idaho and West Virginia that seek to categorically ban transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports from childhood through college and at all levels of competition, including non-competitive intramurals. The politicians behind these cases have made their intentions clear: they seek to prevent transgender people from being themselves both on and off the field. The states that have passed these laws are not only seeking a ruling from the Supreme Court that would uphold the ban on transgender participation in sports, but have asked for a sweeping ruling that could threaten transgender people’s freedom and civil rights across all areas of life, from the classroom to the doctor’s office and beyond.
To learn more about the campaign, click here: www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/more-than-a-game
To learn more about the cases, you can visit West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox on our website.
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