Nancy Hogshead Honored for Advocacy in Women’s Sports
On Thursday, Nancy Hogshead, a three-time Olympic swimming champion, was recognized for her ongoing advocacy for female athletes during a ceremony where she received the Dorothy Franey Langkop Ambassador Award from the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association. This award acknowledges athletes’ service to the Olympic and Paralympic movement after their competitive careers.
Speaking with OutKick in an exclusive interview, Hogshead expressed her gratitude for the recognition, saying, “It was just really nice to be recognized by my peers.”
The civil rights attorney and founder of Champion Women has dedicated many years to ensuring Title IX compliance and improving protections against sexual abuse in sports while also working to maintain female-only categories in athletics.
Currently, Hogshead is advocating for the WNBA to define “woman” explicitly as female for eligibility purposes through a petition she launched in August, which has garnered over 21,000 verified signatures as of Friday.
She noted that this effort has the backing of hundreds of fellow Olympians and Paralympians, stating, “We have 520 Olympians and Paralympians that have signed on to our petition. People who are in sport, they want sport to be formally sex-segregated.”
At the award ceremony, Hogshead wore a shirt from XX-XY Athletics and received a warm response from attendees, many of whom praised her efforts. “People came up to me all night long and were saying, ‘Thank you so much for what you’re wearing. Thanks so much for what you’re doing. I have daughters. I have granddaughters,’” she shared.
In her acceptance speech, Hogshead emphasized that Olympic and Paralympic athletes have a duty to advocate for the principles that have allowed them to compete. “Every girl in this country who gets a team, a scholarship, a locker room, a coach and a fair sport is standing on what we built,” she stated.
She expressed her commitment to ensuring women’s sports remain accessible for females, insisting that girls’ and women’s programs receive proper funding according to the law, even if it’s inconvenient. “My work has been to defend and further those wins,” she added, highlighting the necessity of holding the movement accountable for safeguarding athletes.
The WNBA currently states in its collective bargaining agreement that only women are eligible to play in the league, though it lacks a more specific definition or comprehensive transgender eligibility policy. Recently, the league commented on the ongoing debate, asserting that there were “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA” and labeling some discussions as “bad-faith efforts” to undermine others. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert indicated that the league would keep engaging with the players’ association while focusing on fairness and the integrity of the sport.
Importantly, no transgender woman has yet played in the WNBA. However, Hogshead believes it’s crucial for the league to proactively establish clear rules before any potential conflicts arise. “Boys and men have invaded virtually every aspect of girls’ sports,” she remarked. “It’s inevitable that, of course, a male will come in. And why not? You’re the WNBA. Come up with eligibility criteria that is supportive of a female-only category.”
Hogshead’s accomplishments include winning three gold medals and one silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Her organization, Champion Women, played a role in supporting federal legislation that established the U.S. Center for SafeSport, enhancing oversight of abuse in the Olympic framework.
In closing, Hogshead reflected on the importance of their mission, saying, “We didn’t inherit the Olympic dream to keep it for ourselves. We inherited it to pass it on.”
