The NBA and WNBA have spent more than a decade working with Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In organization, a relationship that has expanded to include promoting a leadership program for girls as young as 11.
asserted
that → spend → 11
There's just one problem: A handbook for adults running the program tells them not to address the group as "girls."
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handbook → be → girls
Yes, Lean In Girls, which the NBA and WNBA say they're "proud to support," includes guidance for working with participants who may be exploring their gender identity.
uncertain
who → say → identity
Its facilitator handbook encourages children to share their pronouns and instructs adults to use gender-neutral language.
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handbook → encourage → language
The handbook also discusses "social power" and "active allyship," teaching facilitators how to help young participants recognize and challenge societal biases.
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participants → discuss → biases
So, how much of the curriculum did the NBA and WNBA review before deciding to support the program?
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NBA → review → program
NBA and WNBA have a longstanding relationship with Lean In
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NBA → have → In
The NBA's 2022-23 Social Impact Report stated that the WNBA had worked with Lean In for eight years, airing public service announcements during the playoffs to promote the value of girls and women in sports.
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WNBA → state → sports
Those early campaigns focused on gender equality and encouraging men to support women.
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campaigns → focus → women
By 2024, the partnership included Lean In Girls, a program designed specifically for children.
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partnership → include → children
That year, the leagues teamed up with WNBA star Aliyah Boston for a promotional campaign encouraging girls to reject stereotypes and embrace their "leadership superpowers."
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leagues → team → superpowers
On April 20, 2026, the NBA published a video describing Lean In Girls as a "free, school-ready" program backed by both leagues.
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NBA → publish → leagues
Promotional ads for Lean In also air during WNBA broadcasts.
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ads → air → broadcasts
The WNBA also teamed up with Flau'jae Johnson, with Lean In's website declaring that Johnson and the league were proud to support the initiative.
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Johnson → team → initiative
Lean In says the free program is designed for girls ages 11-15 and can be used in schools and community organizations.
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program → say → schools
Lean In Girls handbook includes guidance on gender identity, pronouns and social power
OutKick obtained a 2023 Lean In Girls Facilitator Handbook through Courage Is A Habit, a parental-rights organization that previously investigated the program.
The handbook describes Lean In Girls as a program developed for girls and young teenagers who "identify with the girlhood experience."
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who → include → experience
The program includes leadership activities involving goal-setting, confidence and dealing with failure.
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program → include → failure
One section, titled "Gender inclusion," explains that some participants may be exploring their gender identity or feel uncomfortable with the label "girl."
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participants → title → label
"When you greet your group or refer to them as a whole, avoid calling them 'girls' or 'guys,'" the handbook states.
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handbook → greet → them
Instead, facilitators are encouraged to use terms such as "everyone," "folks," "leaders" and "team."
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facilitators → encourage → everyone
The handbook also encourages participants to share their pronouns, though it cautions against making the practice mandatory, and suggests substituting they/them pronouns into fictional scenarios.
uncertain
practice → encourage → scenarios
Another section instructs facilitators to consider how people's identities affect their "social power."
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identities → instruct → power
According to Lean In Girls, adults, wealthy people and able-bodied individuals generally have more power than teenagers, people living in poverty and people with disabilities.
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adults → accord → disabilities
The handbook also encourages facilitators to create a "brave space" where teenagers can "contend with injustice" and practice "active allyship."
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teenagers → encourage → allyship
During a February 2026 webinar hosted by the American School Counselor Association, Lean In Girls official Kelly Meredith described an updated 15-session program with four sections.
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Meredith → host → sections
She said Part 3 addresses overcoming bias and barriers, while Part 4 focuses on allyship.
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Part → say → allyship
OutKick requested the current curriculum, including Parts 3 and 4, to establish what material facilitators are being given today.
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facilitators → request → material
Lean In initially directed OutKick to another email inbox.
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In → direct → inbox
The organization did not provide the materials or respond to subsequent follow-up emails.
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organization → provide → emails
California school district used Lean In Girls as a targeted intervention for middle school students
Records obtained by OutKick show that Santa Clara Unified School District brought Lean In Girls into Buchser Middle School and explored expanding it to four other middle schools.
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District → use → schools
At the district's Spring 2025 Equity Convening, Buchser counselor Brenda Goldstein and vice principal Gilbert Montiel presented Lean In Girls as a "Tier 2 Intervention," a designation for targeted student support.
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Goldstein → present → support
The school said eighth-grade girls were struggling with social connections, confidence and negative social messages.
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girls → say → connections
Officials reviewed academic performance, attendance and discipline records, along with weekly Panorama check-ins, when evaluating the need for the program.
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Officials → review → program
According to the district presentation, recruitment included applications with essay questions and interviews.
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recruitment → accord → questions
Academic data and Panorama check-in histories also factored into the recruitment process, as did "diversity."
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diversity → factor → process
The school's stated objectives included helping girls examine gender and cultural stereotypes, understand their identities and recognize barriers to leadership.
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girls → state → leadership
The district later developed plans for programs at five middle schools.
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district → develop → schools
One presentation proposed a "formal partnership with Lean In Girls as their first public school partner."
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presentation → propose → partner
A planning document shows that several schools intended to use only Parts 1 and 2 of the curriculum.
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schools → show → curriculum
The records don't explain why Parts 3 and 4 were left out or whether officials reviewed those sections.
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officials → explain → sections
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
