Bill to Bar Biological Males From Competing in Women’s Sports Headed for House Vote

The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023” will be voted on in the House, potentially as soon as next week, according to reports. The bill, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) in February 2021, aims to protect women and girls in sports and directly challenges the newly proposed Title IX rule by the U.S. Department of Education under the Biden administration.

The said Act prohibits biological males from participating in federally funded women’s or girls’ sports programs, but doesn’t restrict them from “training” or “practicing with” girls, as long as they don’t take away athletic benefits from female members, such as training, competition, scholarships, and admission to educational institutions.

The new rule by the Education Department applicable for K-12 public schools, colleges, universities, and other federally funded institutions would make school policies illegal if they “categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity,” going through a 30-day public comment period before its enactment.

The House bill currently has 93 co-sponsors, all Republicans, and had unanimous opposition from Democrats in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce when it was passed on March 8. Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) was among the bill’s original co-sponsors.

In a statement on April 6, the same day when the Education Department announced the new rule, Foxx wrote, “At the hands of the Biden administration, Americans are witnessing a major shift in the country, where woke, far Left politics are advancing inequality and unfairness. This proposed rule takes on a totally perverse interpretation of Title IX that completely ignores the biological differences between boys and girls and men and women.” She added, “Now more than ever, Republicans must step up and pass common-sense legislation like the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 to restore the safety, privacy, and opportunities of women and girls in sports.”

In the committee report submitted on April 10, Foxx wrote, “The Biden administration’s reinterpretation of Title IX is a slap in the face to young women and girls, telling them their hard work, on-field achievements, and athletic futures do not matter. Title IX was designed to stop discrimination and ensure equal athletic opportunities for women. By allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports, the Biden administration will be reversing 50 years of progress for women.”

Meanwhile, a Democratic opinion recorded in the committee report says that “the majority of women athletes and their advocates do not consider the participation of transgender youth in women’s sports an existential threat to their survival,” citing a Women’s Sports Foundation policy paper on accommodating transgender athletes (pdf).

Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and supporter of the House bill, was physically attacked by a transgender activist at San Francisco State University after she spoke about saving women’s sports on April 6.