Former Women’s LaCrosse Coach tells her story of being “burned at the stake” for daring to stand up for women’s sports

Kim Russell, former Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Oberlin College, is now working with the Independent Women’s Forum as an Ambassador. Coach Russell  was terminated from her position as head coach at Oberlin, banned from talking with student athletes, and reassigned to a newly created position. The punishments were a clear retaliation for Russell’s decision to break her silence and expose the ways Oberlin College administrators were censoring the views of those like her who believe women’s sports should be kept female. After facing backlash from colleagues and players alike, Russell no longer works at Oberlin College. Having played and coached women’s lacrosse for more than 40 years, Russell has continued advocating for women and for equal opportunity and fairness in women’s sports as an ambassador at IWF.

Coach Russell joined Strictly Speaking for a deeper dive into her own story of “cancelation” for protecting female athletes and their competitions, as well as the important work of IWF moving forward.