Lilah Drafts-Johnson (she/her)

Lilah Drafts-Johnson is a master’s student in the Physical Cultural Studies research group in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned her undergraduate degree in Latin American Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, where she competed as a track and field athlete and was the 2018 Division III NCAA 400m hurdle champion. A NCAA post-graduate scholar, Lilah earned her Level 1 coaching certificate from USTFCCCA while coaching sprinter-hurdlers at Amherst College. 

Lilah’s current research focuses on the formulation and efficacy of gender-based violence (GBV) prevention policies in the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Her work is informed by her experience working at the league office of MLB, where she managed the education and prevention components of the league-wide domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy.

As a scholar who has competed, coached, and worked in the sport industry, Lilah is intimately aware of the opportunities for both empowerment and harm that are present in the contested field of sport. Her goal as a scholar is to make visible and transform structures that silence survivors and abet the epidemic of violence currently present in our systems of sport.