(The Center Square) – Success in protecting women’s spaces will mean recapturing the culture, the founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics apparel says.
Jennifer Sey knows a thing or two about the cancel culture of America because she’s experienced a thing or two. The former president of the Levi’s brand, a 1986 national champion and seven-time member of the United States national gymnastics team, was to be in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday afternoon as President Donald Trump signs the No Men in Women’s Sports executive order.
The signing takes place on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
“The fight is taking the culture back, and to do that you have to take the language back,” Sey told The Center Square by telephone from Washington before heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. “It all seemed benign enough when it began. I probably gave up on some of it to be nice. But when you give in on language, you concede the truth.
“That has a downstream impact. I think it’s really important to wrestle getting back the culture and language. I’m not giving in on their framing. Their framing is a lie.”
Trump’s order will be tied to federal agencies and money through Title IX, the landmark 1972 federal law that balances opportunities for men and women where federal money is involved. Kelley Robinson, the president of Human Rights Campaign, said Tuesday the president’s move increases discrimination and harassment.
The viral ad seizing Super Bowl week – not even scheduled for one of those $7 million-plus windows during the Chiefs-Eagles broadcast Sunday night – offers evidence to the contrary, or rather, endorses what she says albeit for a different group of people. Credit for “Real Girls Rock” belongs to Sey and her creative team led by Brett Craig and cinematographer Matt Rodgers.
Sey and Craig share “cancel” stories – her by Levi’s when she dared question COVID-19 school closures in San Francisco, he the former manager of ads for Taco Bell and Dr. Pepper.
Released Sunday heading into the week of the 59th Super Bowl, the 107-second spot shows women athletes in training, preparing with the overlay of critical and condescending voices. And bully text messages. It includes Riley Gaines, the face of the movement, and her Tennessee state champion sister Neely; former Nevada volleyball player Sia Li’iLi’i; and taekwondo Junior Pan American champion Jaycee Bassett.
“He had the spark of the idea,” Sey says of Craig, “and I was so intrigued by it as a former elite level gymnast. It celebrates the hard work – the part no one sees. It’s boring and hard, and it’s brutal. Female athletes sacrifice a lot. They demonstrate such discipline and perseverance. And if they dare stand up, they get harassed and bullied.”
Sey’s brand launched March 25 of last year. Three ads have gone viral, the merchandise and logo are gaining traction, but the movement to protect women’s sports and spaces is still yet to claim a still competing modern-day athlete.
“It still feels pretty alone,” Sey said. “We have a lot of work to do. We need to change the culture. Not a single high-level athlete has spoken out on the matter. When the athletes themselves stand up, that’s when this starts to change.”
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is arguably the biggest thus far, though the climax of her playing days is more than a quarter-century ago. Her strong left views, however, do endorse Sey saying this issue is on morality rather than politics.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion is joined by the likes of J.K. Rowling, Megyn Kelly, Sage Steele and Bill Ackman in pushing the effort and the latest ad grabbing more than 10 million views generating 90% positive engagement.
“My litmus test for brand affinity is ‘net promoter’ score – how willing are you to recommend this brand,” Sey said. “We can say with confidence the people sharing the ad are enthusiastically recommending the brand.”
Sey, herself a 35-year Democrat now labeling herself independent and more “classic liberal,” pokes the behemoth Nike on social media, and said the latest ad is intentional for whom it shows.
“We really wanted – the Nikes of the world celebrate the athletes everybody knows – the athletes that train in anonymity, that hope for a Division I scholarship, work just as hard and are often forgotten,” Sey said. “We wanted to celebrate those athletes that work just as hard.”
Two things are notable with Trump’s signing, both positive and negative, Sey says. One is the opening; the other is history such as the Safe Sport Act of 2018.
“Riley and I have talked about this a lot,” Sey says of what is next. “He’s given us an incredible gift, not just this one but the first day.”
That’s when he signed an executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
“The reach of the EO is it impacts federally funded institutions,” Sey said. “The Boston Marathon has qualified a man in the women’s division – that’s unimpacted. The International Olympic Committee, which allowed a man to win two gold medals, that’s clearly beyond the reach of the executive order.
“Youth sports, adult sports – the majority take place outside the auspices of Title IX. Trump has given us an incredible opening, a gift. We need to take the ball and run with it, knock the door down.”
And the rush is to culture because, she says, legislation alone as already proven is a battle win, not the war.
“It’s arguably true there’s more abuse than ever” in sports, Sey said referring to the Safe Sport Act of 2018. “It’s an important lesson. The abuse didn’t start with legislation, and it didn’t end it. The same is true with this. Will Thomas swam when there was no legislation.
“At the end of day, we’ve got to change the culture.”