House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addressed growing concerns about biological male competition in women’s sports during a Girls and Women in Sports Day event on Wednesday, along with a panel of House Republicans and women who were forced to compete against men who identify as transgender.
McCarthy sought to draw attention to the growing number of women being forced to compete against men who identify as women in competitive sports, saying it was “not a partisan issue” but a matter of “fairness.”
The speaker was joined by several guests, including freshman Rep. Jen Keegans, R-Va., and NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who are addressing the issue of identifying female biological males who are allowed to compete in women’s track and field .
The professional athlete described the seriousness of not only competing against biological men, but also being forced to change in a locker room with grown men.
I AM A 12X NCAA ALL-AMERICAN SPLIMER. ATHLETES SHOULD COMPETE BASED ON GENDER, NOT GENDER
Leah Thomas is a male athlete who competes as a woman when she is tied with Riley Gaines.
(Mary Schwalm)
“Is it so wild that you can turn around and see a 6’4″ biological man pulling his pants down watching you undress and no one is willing to stand up for you?” Gaines said in an emotional statement.
Gaines tied with transgender athlete Leah Thomas during the NCAA Championships in the 200-yard dash.
“Being forced to play against a biological male is not something I would wish on my worst enemies,” said Macy Petty, a Young Women for America ambassador and NCAA athlete, during the panel.
“It’s not about hate, it’s about protecting our rights as biological women,” she said, referring to when she was forced to compete in a volleyball tournament against a biological man.
During Wednesday’s event, Speaker McCarthy listened to athlete Riley Gaines share her story of having to compete against a biological male during a swimming competition.
(Tom Williams/Rich Von Biberstein)
The women stressed the importance of more politicians advocating for the issue rather than forcing female athletes into these positions, describing some as “blinded by their political ideology” in their refusal to stand up for women.
VIRGINIA BILL TO BAN TRANSGENDER ATHLETES FROM WOMEN’S SPORTS
“It’s a sad day in America when we have to introduce a bill that says men will play on funds teams and women will play on women’s teams,” wrote Congressman Greg Steube, R-Fla., in a statement read by McCarthy at an event.
Keegans described efforts to tackle the problem as “disappointing”.
In January 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that students must play on sports teams and use restrooms based on their gender identity, not their biological sex.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during a rally Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, outside the NCAA convention in San Antonio.
(Darren Abate)
McCarthy is leading the charge to push back against the Biden administration, which has advocated for biological males competing in women’s sports.
House Republicans have introduced the “Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act,” legislation that seeks to recognize that in athletics, sex is “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
On Monday, Virginia House of Delegates moved a bill to ban female-identifying men from competing in women’s sports at Virginia schools.
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“The purpose of House Bill 1837 is to protect our girls and young women from being forced to compete against biological men,” said Virginia Beach Republican Delegate Karen Greenhalgh. “Similarly gifted and trained men will always have a physical advantage over women, which is why we have women’s sports.”