MEDIA ADVISORY

WHERE: The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Pavilion 
1607 Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501

WHEN: Monday, June 23, 2025, 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. MT
Formal programming begins at 2:30 p.m. MT
Press gaggle and opportunity for Q&A immediately following remarks

Part game day, part celebration—“Her Game. Her Legacy.” is rolling out the pink carpet and various action-packed games to honor both female athletes nationwide and the generational impact of Title IX. Independent Women will recognize the Trump administration’s historic leadership in restoring Title IX to its original intent and kick off National Women’s Sports Week (June 22–28) with a statewide bus tour across New Mexico stopping in all 33 counties throughout the state.

National Women’s Sports Week was founded and powered by Independent Women in 2022. Observed annually during the week of June 23rd, National Women's Sports Week celebrates female athletes—past, present, and future—for their achievements and contributions to sport. Next week, Senator Joni Ernst and Representative Claudia Tenney are expected to reintroduce a resolution in Congress recognizing the week of June 23 as “National Women’s Sports Week.”

In the last year, there has been a booming national movement, one stretching beyond party lines, to stand with women and call on elected officials to protect women’s sports for female athletes. 

Most notably, President Donald Trump signed the Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order on February 5, fulfilling a top campaign promise.  Additionally, numerous investigations have been launched by the Department of Education on the basis of women’s sports and spaces to hold states and federally funded entities accountable under Title IX. This move and others showcase a commitment to protecting women’s sports and equal opportunity at the federal level, but at the state level, there is more work to be done. 

Twenty-eight states have enacted laws to protect women’s sports by prohibiting male athletes from competing in programs designated for women. Sixteen states have taken further steps by adopting clear, sex-based definitions of “woman” and “female.” Yet, many other states—including New Mexico—continue to promote policies that strip women and girls of equal opportunity, fairness, privacy, and dignity in sports and sex-specific spaces. 

84% of New Mexicans support protecting single-sex spaces. Independent Women’s “Her Game. Her Legacy.” Santa Fe event and New Mexico bus tour will expose the disjointed reality in New Mexico and how harmful policies are undermining women and girls.

Her Game. Her Legacy. Details: 

WHAT: “Her Game. Her Legacy.” event to celebrate the anniversary of Title IX—53 years strong—and female athletes—past, present, and future. The event will feature a celebratory pink carpet moment for all female athletes, interactive activity stations, exciting prizes, and inspiring remarks from women’s sports advocates and special guests leading the movement to protect women’s sports.

WHERE: Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Pavilion 

1607 Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501

WHEN: Monday, June 23, 2025, from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. MT

Formal programming begins at 2:30 p.m. MT
Press gaggle and opportunity for Q&A immediately following remarks

WHO: High-ranking officials, athletes, parents, and coaches from across New Mexico, and women fighting on the frontlines to defend Title IX

Special Guests Include: 

• Susana Martinez, former governor of New Mexico;

• U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a leading voice in the fight to restore Title IX’s original intent;

• Payton McNabb, sports ambassador for Independent Women and former three-sport high school athlete who turned tragedy into triumph after a traumatic brain injury ended her athletic future. Payton has become a bold advocate for protecting women’s sports;

• Linnea Saltz, sports ambassador for Independent Women and former NCAA track and field athlete from Southern Utah University who competed against June Eastwood, the first transgender-identifying male athlete to compete in DI cross country;

• Coach Kim Russell, sports ambassador for Independent Women and former head women’s lacrosse coach at Oberlin College; and

• other female sports advocates and New Mexico parents.

**Mult-box will be provided**

**There will be opportunities for pull asides, in addition to a press gaggle with special guest speakers following remarks and formal programming.**

Please direct all RSVPs and media inquiries to press@iwf.org. Press credentials provided on location.

One year after Independent Women held a national bus tour—the Take Back Title IX Summer 2024 Bus Tour—visiting 30 states in 30 days and holding rallies across the country to grow the largest, most ideologically diverse women’s movement of our time, Independent Women will revving up the engine and putting the bus back on the road following the June 23 “Her Game. Her Legacy.” event in Santa Fe. This time, the bus will be hitting the road celebrating the policies that have been advanced by the Trump administration to protect women’s sports, women’s spaces, and women’s equal opportunity.

New Mexico athletes, parents, and coaches will be encouraged to sign the bus and share their personal stories related to integrity of female sports.

**There will be media interview and broll opportunities surrounding the wrapped bus.**

For all media inquiries, media RSVPs, and to learn more about the “Her Game. Her Legacy.” event and bus tour, please email press@iwf.org.