Seattle, WA. - On Wednesday afternoon, the Sounders Women spoke along with Senator Patty Murray in celebration of the 40th anniversary for Title IX. Megan Rapinoe, Stephanie Cox, and Sydney Leroux spoke in front of female athletes at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington about what Title IX has meant to them.

“Forty years ago, 37 words threw open the doors to athletics, education and success for millions of young women in our country,” Senator Patty Murray said.

Senator Murray was a big proponent of Title IX support throughout it’s duration. She spoke about what the law has meant to her personally as well as her family. Rapinoe, Cox, and Leroux, of the U.S. National Team spoke about how sports have opened up doors for them and allowed them to achieve the lives they have.

Title IX says: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

“That law was simple, it was powerful and it has delivered amazing results.” Murray added. “In 1972, fewer than 300,000 women across the country played competitive sports. Forty years since this law has passed, today this number is approaching 3 million.”

Megan Rapinoe, in her first appearance with the Sounders Women, talked about how Title IX gave her a key to expand her dreams. Rapinoe used the opportunity to attend the University of Portland on a scholarship before playing as a pro.

“I think Title IX to me means the opportunity of having new doors opened, and having doors opened that I didn’t even know existed or that I could see but just didn’t really know how to get to,” said Rapinoe, who has enjoyed traveling the world and meeting thousands of people. “Having the opportunity to have an education; maybe I’m not using my degree as it stands right now, because I’m playing football (soccer), but in the future, I’ll need that.”

Also in attendance was Sounders Women coach, Michelle French, General Manager, Amy Carnell, and Mexican National Team star, Veronica Perez. Garfield High School basketball star, whom is headed to play for Yale, Nyasha Sarju, also made a fantastic speech at the press conference.

The Sounders, Megan Rapinoe included will retake the field on Friday night against the University of Washington. The match is sold out, but fans can watch the game on USLlive.com. The online web-coverage starts at 7:15pm.