Following her team’s semifinal victory over the University of Connecticut this weekend, Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw had a lot to celebrate—but she’s not done fighting for women’s equality.
In an interview with the press, the head coach with two national championships under her belt professed her commitment to creating a culture of women’s equality in sports. She has vowed to only hire woman coaches for her NCAA championship-winning basketball team, and she’s urging other women’s coaches to do the same.
But McGraw also took time to explain to the reporters in the room why her own work for gender equality was only the beginning—and demanded the long-overdue passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
“I’m getting tired of the novelty of the first female governor of this state, the first female African American mayor of this city,” McGraw remarked in a viral video clip. “When is it going to become the norm, instead of the exception?”
She then issued an observation that also served as a powerful declaration: “We don’t have enough women in power,” she explained, and sports is a good place to start showcasing their strength.
You can urge your lawmakers to lift the ratification deadline on the ERA to help realize McGraw’s vision for constitutional equality—and the opportunities for women to lead and succeed that come with it.
