On April 7, 2025, Leigh Ernst Friestedt stood before a federal judge in Oakland, California, in the hope of halting a multibillion-dollar legal settlement that could fundamentally remake college sports.
Friestedtwas one of 14 people selected to speak in opposition to a deal negotiated between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the United States’ most prominent college athletic conferences, and a legal class of elite student-athletes who had sued to be compensated for the use of their names, images, and likenesses in broadcasts, sponsorship deals, and other commercial endeavors. The headline-making agreement, Friestedt argued, was a clear violation of Title IX, the civil rights statute that dramatically expanded opportunities for women in scholastic sports, and would unravel more than 50 years of social progress.
Though few in the courtroom knew it, Friestedt’s statements that day marked her first-ever appearance as a lawyer before the court. But it was a moment she had been—quite unintentionally—training for her entire life.
role: Author outlet:The Term (The Potomac School) publication date: Spring 2026 category:Other
