{"id":606978,"date":"2021-07-30T14:50:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T18:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=606978"},"modified":"2021-07-30T14:50:56","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T18:50:56","slug":"exclusive-athletes-fighting-biological-males-in-womens-sports-take-their-stories-to-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-athletes-fighting-biological-males-in-womens-sports-take-their-stories-to-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Athletes Fighting Biological Males In Women\u2019s Sports Take Their Stories To Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-athletes-fighting-biological-males-in-womens-sports-take-their-stories-to-washington%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=606978&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>World champion track athlete Cynthia Monteleone, her daughter Margaret, and three-time Olympian Inga Thompson journeyed to Washington, D.C., this week to urge lawmakers to protect women\u2019s sports.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cHeadlines say that Republicans want to ban transgender athletes from sports,\u201d Cynthia Monteleone told the Daily Caller News Foundation as the mother and daughter recovered in their hotel room after a full day on Capitol Hill. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cAll the legislators yesterday and today have no interest in banning them, they want them to compete fairly,\u201d she said. \u201cJust not at the expense of our daughters and granddaughters.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 \u201cWe\u2019re not often heard,\u201d Cynthia Monteleone told a trio of female senators Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill. \u201cThough we are just three of thousands that this is happening to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Monteleone is a world champion track athlete who competed against a transgender competitor in the 2018 World Masters Athletics Championships in M\u00e1laga, Spain. Dressed in a white pantsuit with a fresh tropical flower tucked behind her ear, she spent Wednesday and Thursday urging Republican lawmakers to fight back against biological males competing in women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n<p>Monteleone and her 16-year-old daughter Margaret, who raced and placed second behind a biological male as a high school freshman, told lawmakers Thursday that they are not asking for transgender students to be banned from sports. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/26\/poll-transgender-athletes-gender-olympics-axios\/\">(RELATED: POLL: 20% Of Americans Say Trans Athletes Should Compete Against Gender Of Their Choice)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The two athletes instead suggested that transgender students have their own category to compete in, allowing female-bodied athletes to fairly compete only against other biological females.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHeadlines say that Republicans want to ban transgender athletes from sports,\u201d Cynthia Monteleone told the Daily Caller News Foundation as the mother and daughter recovered in their hotel room from a full day on Capitol Hill. \u201cAll the legislators yesterday and today have no interest in banning them, they want them to compete fairly. Just not at the expense of our daughters and granddaughters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Propelled by the Independent Women\u2019s Forum, the Monteleone duo joined three-time Olympian Inga Thompson, a retired road bicycle racer, as they sat down with Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee early Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I first started, there were no sports for women,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cJust try to grasp that. It\u2019s right up there with \u2018we had no cell phones, no VCR\u2019s.\u2019 I remember being a young girl saying, \u2018I want to do this, I want to do that.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t really grasp that, I think with this generation, the opportunities that the women before us have built,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7248528\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"32\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7248528\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7248528 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Senator Marsha Blackburn. \" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-768x511-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-1536x1022-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/072921-JY5-490-2048x1363-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7248528\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Senator Marsha Blackburn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just one of those women now standing on the shoulders of the women before me that brought in Title IX so that I had the opportunity to race,\u201d Thompson added. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/15\/transgender-sports-hawaii-biological-males-independent-womens-forum\/\">(RELATED: Mother, Daughter Athlete Duo Fight Against Biological Males In Women\u2019s Sports In Hawaii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The three-time Olympian cyclist recalled fighting international officials on a policy that would have banned female athletes from competing when they were menstruating.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still remember these huge looming men looking down on me telling me this was the way it was going to be,\u201d she said, adding comically that \u201cnot a single woman who has trained for 20 years of her life\u201d would have said \u201cOh, I just started my period today, I just can\u2019t start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really are in a situation again where the men are telling us what we can and cannot do,\u201d agreed Cynthia Monteleone.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/19\/kristi-noem-lgtbq-transgender\/\">across the country<\/a> have introduced and enacted bills prohibiting biological males from participating in women\u2019s sports. A review by Axios found in April that Republicans had already introduced 61 bills in 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/10\/axios-republicans-trangender-bills-women-children\/\">aimed at protecting women<\/a> and children from unpopular gender policies.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these bills <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/02\/04\/critics-slam-aclu\/\">have been fought<\/a> by the American Civil Liberties Union. Others have been blocked by governors like Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, who <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/23\/louisiana-trasngender-lgbtq\/\">vetoed the state\u2019s Fairness in Women\u2019s Sports bill<\/a> in June,&nbsp;calling it \u201ca solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In late July, U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph R. Goodwin similarly ruled that a biologically male middle school student may compete on a girl\u2019s cross country team in spite of West Virginia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wvlegislature.gov\/legisdocs\/chamber\/2021\/RS\/com_amends\/HB3293%20S%20ED%20AM%20_1%204-1%20adopted.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">HB 3293<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers from the ACLU-West Virginia&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/wvmetronews.com\/2021\/07\/21\/judge-rules-transgender-west-virginia-athlete-should-be-allowed-to-run-on-the-girls-team\/\">had argued<\/a> that the law would unfairly prevent 11-year-old trans student Becky Pepper-Jackson from participating on a girls\u2019 cross country team. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/22\/west-virginia-trans-student-girls-cross-country-team-judge-rules-lgbtq\/\">(RELATED: Biologically Male Middle School Student Can Run On Girls\u2019 Cross Country Team, Judge Rules)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve said all along this cruel legislation would not survive a legal challenge, and we\u2019re encouraged by the court\u2019s decision today,\u201d ACLU-WV Legal Director Loree Stark said in a statement following the ruling. \u201cWe hope trans kids throughout West Virginia who felt attacked and wronged by the passage of this legislation are feeling empowered by today\u2019s news.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, I have been provided with scant evidence that this law addresses any problem at all, let alone an important problem,\u201d Goodwin <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/22\/west-virginia-trans-student-girls-cross-country-team-judge-rules-lgbtq\/\">wrote in his ruling<\/a>. \u201cWhen the government distinguishes between different groups of people, those distinctions must be supported by compelling reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The female athletes pushed back against such rhetoric, insisting that many discouraged young women simply drop out of sports rather than take a stand against transgender athletes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a flat out lie,\u201d Cynthia Monteleone said firmly of the suggestion that Fairness In Women\u2019s Sport\u2019s Acts are unnecessary in some states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because we are being censored,\u201d Thompson agreed. \u201cA lot of the young girls just quietly walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7248524\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"32\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7248524\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7248524 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Senator Marsha Blackburn. \" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-07-29-JKL-Blackburn-Hyde-Smith-2-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7248524\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Senator Marsha Blackburn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The athletes encouraged lawmakers not to fixate on birth certificates when crafting transgender sports legislation: Monteleone instead asked legislators to focus on language about biological sex, pointing out that many states now allow birth certificates to be changed.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson urged lawmakers to abandon clauses allowing exceptions for \u201cextreme cases,\u201d saying that activists use this language to create loopholes in the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Monteleone also noted that a couple states are only focusing on protecting high school sports, rather than college and professional sports. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/30\/noem-south-dakota-bill-explains\/\">(RELATED: Here\u2019s Why Noem Fought South Dakota\u2019s Bill Banning Biological Males From Women\u2019s Sports)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The NCAA, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/22\/tucker-noem-south-dakota-bill-womens-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rumored<\/a> to have intimidated Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem from signing the state\u2019s Fairness in Women\u2019s Sports Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/about\/resources\/media-center\/news\/ncaa-board-governors-statement-transgender-participation\">warned<\/a> in April that it would pull out of states that do not allow transgender students to participate in college sports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really important to extend it and hold the NCAA accountable,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause in their language, they say that they support women. And when they do this, they are not supporting women.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7248599\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"33\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7248599\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7248599 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy Mary Margaret Olohan.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-scaled-1.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-90x120.jpeg 90w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-465x620-1.jpeg 465w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-768x1024-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-1152x1536-1.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_0625-1-1536x2048-1.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7248599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The athletes attend a meeting with Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee. Photo courtesy Mary Margaret Olohan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The younger Monteleone described watching her teammates before their race against a biological male competitor, noting their anxiety and discouragement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we were on the field about to run the race, all my teammates were just super discouraged,\u201d Margaret Monteleone said. \u201cWe had all worked so hard, I practiced with them, I know how hard they worked. One was crying, they were all super anxious. Everybody was really nervous. It was really sad to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The high school student told the DCNF that her friends and teachers have been very supportive \u2014 even those who are friends with the biologically male athlete who she competed against.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so lucky and proud of my daughter that she\u2019s able to tell those of her generation, hey, no, actually the science says that even after hormone therapy and gender reassignment, that male bodied athletes still have an advantage over females,\u201d her mother said. \u201cNow the opposing side is saying, well, it shouldn\u2019t be about science in this particular case, it should be about how we feel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut feelings don\u2019t play sports,\u201d Cynthia Monteleone continued. \u201cBodies do. We female bodied athletes deserve our right to have those opportunities for scholarships and medals, to stand on the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The athletes said repeatedly that they are determined to help other women and girls speak up against biological males in women\u2019s sports. They\u2019ve gained a few haters and trolls, Cynthia Monteleone told the DCNF, but they don\u2019t mind. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/21\/louisiana-house-fails-override-trans-bill\/\">(RELATED: Louisiana Republicans Fail To Override Governor\u2019s Veto On Bill Banning Biological Males From Women\u2019s Sports)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue champions don\u2019t place value in the opinions of others,\u201d Monteleone said.<\/p>\n<p>The world champion track athlete dwelt particularly on parting words from Sen. Hyde-Smith, who lagged behind her colleagues as they rushed out of the room to vote Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou all keep speaking up,\u201d Hyde-Smith told the athletes, adding repeatedly, \u201cShame on us if we allow this to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World champion track athlete Cynthia Monteleone, her daughter Margaret, and three-time Olympian Inga Thompson journeyed to Washington, D.C., this week to urge lawmakers to protect women\u2019s sports.\u00a0 \u201cHeadlines say that &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-606978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}