Fight To Protect Women’s Sports Could Stall In Senate

A commonsense issue that Americans overwhelmingly support is expected to face Democratic resistance in the Senate.

Senators will vote to invoke cloture on Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Monday evening. Every GOP senator is expected to vote to advance the bill, but the legislation faces uncertain prospects due to the upper chamber’s 60-vote legislative threshold and expected opposition from Senate Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told hosts of the Ruthless podcast Thursday that his decision to bring the bill up for a vote is an attempt to codify President Donald Trump’s executive order (EO) enacting a categorical ban on transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports.

“This is an 80/20 issue,” Thune said, calling the protection of women’s sports a “commonsense” idea. “It’s unfortunate that it’s something that needs to be codified, but we’re going to try and make sure that the president’s EO … endures over time and the way to do that is to have Congress take action.”

“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” Trump wrote in his in his executive order titled “Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports.”

“This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports,” the president added.

Seven Senate Democrats will need to vote “yes” on invoking cloture to advance the bill to a vote on final passage. Despite roughly eight in ten Americans opposing transgender-identifying athletes’ participation in girls and women’s sports — including a majority of Democratic voters — the women’s sports bill could die in the Senate due to Democrats’ opposition.

Tuberville’s bill would interpret Title IX to bar biological males from participating in girls and women’s sports and would withhold federal funding to schools that allow transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports. The Biden administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX to include gender identity, which would have opened up girls and women’s sports to transgender athletes, was ultimately blocked by a federal court judge.

Female athletes who have been forced to compete against and share locker rooms with males who identify as females are pledging to hold Senate Democrats accountable. Many of these athletes are demanding that Democrats protect Title IX and fair play in women’s sports and reject left-wing gender ideology.

“A vote for S.9 is the most basic acknowledgement of common sense a Senator could make,” Macy Petty, a legislative strategist for Concerned Women for America and former NCAA volleyball player, told the DCNF. “Anything less than their full support is a knife to the back to every single woman they claim to champion. But forgetting basic humanity doesn’t just affect athletes, it harms every single one of their constituents.”

“They’ll have a choice to either stand with the vast majority of Democrats — and Americans — who believe in fairness, or they’re going to cater to this radical ideology that ignores common sense and biological reality,” Kaitlynn Wheeler, a Riley Gaines Center ambassador and former NCAA swimmer, told the DCNF.

Proponents of legislation to protect women’s sports will be closely watching how Senate Democrats, especially those representing states Trump won in November, vote Monday evening. Georgia Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are facing considerable pressure to back the women’s sports bill due to their constituents overwhelmingly supporting efforts to bar biological males from women’s sports.

“All women and girls deserve a fair opportunity to achieve athletic excellence,” Georgia Republican Rep. Buddy Carter told the DCNF Wednesday. “I am calling on Senators Warnock and Ossoff to stand with the people of Georgia and protect female athletes by supporting the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.”

Approximately 73% of likely Georgia general election voters believe Georgia’s state government should ban biological males from participating in girls’ sports, according to a January poll by the Tyson Group that surveyed 600 Georgia residents.

Georgia’s state legislature is also moving to pass legislation barring transgender-identifying athletes from girls and women’s sports at the state level.

Female athletes are demanding that Senate Democrats, who claim to stand for women’s rights, put their words into action by voting to protect girls and women’s sports

“If Senate Democrats truly stand for women’s rights, they should have no problem voting ‘yes’ for a bill that ensures fairness and safety and the dignity of female athletes,” Wheeler told the DCNF. “Anything less than full support of this bill is a betrayal to me and the women and girls they claim to represent.”

“Regardless of what happens, I think this fight is far from over,” Wheeler continued. “We continue working with lawmakers and athletes and parents to ensure that Title IX is upheld and women’s sports remains fair and protected.”

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