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Hey there!
I'm Mercedes Townsend, an attorney and avid advocate for women athletes. Thank you for considering supporting my platform, Friend of the Court.
Before law school, I earned my Master's in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College. I then graduated from Tulane University School of Law's Sports Law Program, where I focused my work on the ways gender discrimination affects the legal landscape for women athletes.
Drawing on these experiences, I created Friend of the Court to bring attention to the legal issues women athletes at all levels of sport face and to empower athletes and advocates with educational resources to aid them in affecting change.
What is Friend of the Court?
Friend of the Court is an online platform dedicated to developments in Women's Sports Law.
Through it, I produce and share educational resources on the laws and policies affecting women athletes, and help provide a platform for issues that often are not covered by major sports media outlets.
Friend of the Court enjoys global support from our growing community of followers. You can join in on the conversation on Instagram @fotc_sports!
Your Contribution Will Help Support:
- Creating digital educational resources
- An updated and streamlined Friend of the Court website, which will serve as a hub for advocacy efforts, legal developments, and resources for athletes and advocates
- Research on specialized topics in women's sports to help bolster advocacy campaigns, including first-of-their-kind quantitative research initiatives on the experiences of college and professional cheerleaders and dancers.
- Paid writing opportunities geared towards women law students and young women professionals to help expand our coverage of the issues
- A scholarship fund for under-resourced women athletes and women pursuing careers in sports law and policy
- Overall, resources to allow us to be as creative, impactful, and expansive in this work as possible!
Thank you so much for your support to help level the playing field and change the game for women in sports.
