House Delivers a Win for Girls’ Sports

April 20, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

The House of Representatives today passed by a vote of 219-203, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R.734), a bill that will guarantee the 50-year-old promise of Title IX to today’s female athletes.  Eagle Forum supports the right of biological females to participate in girls’ only athletics at all levels and applauds the actions of the House today.
 
“As the mother of two daughters, I know first-hand how important it is for girls to safely participate in athletics. This bill is necessary to not only protect the scholarship opportunities of the top female competitors but helps the vast majority of girls who simply want the chance to play sports for fun. These girls need protection against physical injury and being denied a spot on the team if they are forced to compete against biological males,” stated Kristen A. Ullman, President of Eagle Forum.
 
This bill is necessary because in contradiction to the historical interpretation of Title IX, the Biden Administration’s Department of Education released a regulation that will erase the protections the law provides female athletes. This perversion of Title IX will allow biological males to play in female sports in schools and colleges. Although twenty states have passed laws protecting these programs, the new regulation will override state sovereignty and make every school seek accommodation in every sport at every grade level if they want to have a girls-only team. The burden of proof would shift to schools to justify any program that ‘discriminates’ against biological males by keeping teams all-female.
 
H.R.734 re-establishes the original intent of Title IX by clarifying that any institution receiving federal funds cannot allow biological males to compete in sports explicitly for females. This would protect girls’ privacy, give female athletes a fair playing field, and safeguard athletic scholarship opportunities for women.
 
“The House put points on the board toward ensuring the original Title IX protections,” Ullman said, “but the game is not over.  We encourage the Senate to take up this important issue and implore the President to reconsider his opposition to safe and fair competition for female athletes at all levels of competition.  Only then can we actually win the game for our daughters.”