Ten Republican senators banded together to reintroduce the so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which was in effect originally proposed during the 2021–2022 legislative session.
Main co-sponsors Senator Judy Ward (R-Blair/Fulton/Huntingdon/Juniata/Mifflin) i His. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) say they want to “ensure that female students compete in high school and college sports on an equal basis,” thereby ensuring that the increased athletic opportunities that female students have achieved are preserved.
The legislation states that school athletic teams designated for women “shall not be open to male teams.” It further states that “gender” is defined as “the biological distinction between male and female, based on reproductive biology and genetic structure.”
“It is imperative that we protect female athletes’ opportunity to compete on the field in a fair and equitable manner,” the co-sponsors wrote. “Allowing a biological male to compete on a women’s high school track team automatically puts all women on the field at a disadvantage.”
Controversy over transgender participation in sports continues to make its way into national courts. Women’s volleyball player from San Jose State University (California). she filed two lawsuits arguing that her teammate should not have been on the team. The program’s associate head coach filed a Title IX complaint against the head coach and joined the lawsuit, which argued that the team’s victories should be voided.
The senior played girls’ club and high school volleyball, then played four seasons on women’s varsity volleyball and never represented America or competed for a national championship. Until this season, there was no public outcry regarding the safety and integrity of it. But now her involvement is the subject of debate on national talk shows and the subject of multiple lawsuits, and the president-elect has criticized her play.
Previous Pennsylvania bill – HB 972 – passed the House of Representatives by a 115-84-1 majority and State Senate, 30-20before it was vetoed by the Democratic governor. Tomek Wilk.
“This discriminatory legislation would prohibit transgender girls and women from participating in women’s track and field teams or sports.” – Wolf wrote in his veto. “Even if this bill is passed, it will face legal challenges due to violations of federal law and constitutional guarantees of equal protection. The LGBTQ+ community in Pennsylvania and across the country, especially our transgender and nonbinary youth and young people; I see you, I support you, I respect you and I stand by you.”
“Maintaining separate biologically specific teams will provide opportunities for women athletes while meeting Title IX goals,” the modern co-sponsorship memo reads. “Title IX was intended to end discrimination and create equal athletic opportunities for women. Allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports risks undoing the progress we have seen since the passage of Title IX.
“Athletic competitions give women the opportunity to demonstrate their strength and skill, while also providing opportunities to earn recognition, from accolades to college scholarships. By opening women’s sports to men, we are taking away these opportunities from our women and girls who have worked tirelessly to achieve the equality they deserve.”
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) policy, established nearly three years ago, calls for transgender participation in every sport set out in the policy of the sport’s national governing body (NGB).subject to the ongoing review and recommendation of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport to the Board of Governors. If there is no NGB policy for a particular sport, the policy of the sport’s international federation would be followed. In the absence of an international federation’s policy, previously established IOC policy criteria will be applied.
The modern Title IX regulations, which went into effect on August 1, state that “sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of gender stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. This expanded definition shifts the focus from sexual harassment to gender-based harassment more broadly.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act requires equal access to sports for transgender, non-binary and intersex students.
“Students have the right to participate in school sports activities consistent with their gender identity; Denying students this right constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity under Title IX and PHRA.”
A representative of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the governing body that oversees school sports in the commonwealth, said the organization had no comment at this time.
They joined Ward and Phillips-Hill Sense. KimWard (R-Westmoreland), Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne/Pike/Susquehanna/Wayne/Wyoming), Michel Brooks (R-Crawford/Lawrence/Mercer), Bartolotta’s room (R-Beaver/Greene/Washington), Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks/Montgomery), Rosemary Brown (R-Lackawanna/Monroe/Wayne), Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-Columbia/Luzerna/Montour/Northumberland/Snyder) and Dawn Keefer (R-Cumberland/York) as sponsors.
