Phoenixville Student Athlete Calls For Gender Equality In Sports

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —A Phoenixville student athlete asked Phoenixville Area School District administrators to survey student-athletes and their parents regarding inequities that they may have experienced between male and female athletes.

Kenzie Padilla spoke out at a Jan. 8 school board meeting after she and her father, Mike, filed a complaint federal Department of Education accusing the Phoenixville Area School District of violating Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination.

“Girls should have the same opportunities to benefit and succeed in sports the boys do,” Padilla told the school board. “They don’t deserve to be left wondering why the boys teams at their schools are getting more than they are. They don’t need to be told that’s just the way it is.”

Padilla was on a cross-country team that won a Pioneer League championship in 2021. She said the district gave the team commemorative T-shirts.
In comparison, she said, in 2022 the boy's baseball team won a conference championship, and the team received championship rings, jackets, and a ceremony. “These student-athletes are afraid to stand up for themselves publicly,” she said.

Padilla said although she has had a wonderful experience with her swimming and running coaches at Phoenixville, the administration has attempted to stop her from learning more about Title IX.

Padilla said in 2021 when her Phoenixville cross country team won the Pioneer League championship, the team received commemorative T-shirts.

In comparison, she said, in 2022 the boy's baseball team won a conference championship, and the team received championship rings, jackets, and a ceremony.

Padilla, an all-American swimmer, competes on the swim team and will compete on the track team in the Spring. She will graduate in the spring of 2024 and plans to go to Harvard University in the fall.

After the complaint was filed, Nicole R. McClure, district spokeswoman, said the district is conducting an internal audit to determine the status of the district's compliance with the law and address any disparities that are discovered.

McClure noted that Superintendent Melissa “Missy” McTiernan was an NCAA Division 1 national champion athlete, who has instilled this commitment to Title IX across the district.