Advocates for protecting female sports leagues testified before members of Congress on Tuesday about the harms of men who claim to be women competing against females.
The testimonies before the House Oversight Committee occur months after the Biden administration introduced rules that would erode Title IX, which requires schools to provide equal opportunities in athletics programs to members of both sexes, by disallowing schools from issuing a categorical ban on self-described transgender students participating in sports leagues with members of the opposite sex. Many of the witnesses contended that allowing men to compete against women places them at risk for harm and exploitation.
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines recounted how Lia Thomas, a man formerly known as Will who started competing against women after he purportedly began a gender transition, defeated her in the NCAA championship. “We watched as this male swam to a women’s national title, beating out the most impressive and accomplished female swimmers in the country, including Olympians and American record holders,” she commented. “Despite tying down to the hundredth with Thomas, I was denied the trophy because the NCAA claimed it was necessary Thomas was holding it when pictures were being taken.”
Representative Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, accused Gaines of advancing “transphobic bigotry,” prompting Gaines to counter that Lee was a “misogynist.” Lee then attempted to strike the response from Gaines for “engaging in personalities.”
Lawmakers considered testimony from National Women’s Law Center chief executive Fatima Goss Graves, who said that “excluding trans and intersex women and girls hurts all women” in a manner that violates the “letter, spirit, and intent” of Title IX. She added that “transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students must be able to fully access education as their full selves.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, meanwhile contended that “targeting trans women in sports is particularly problematic, not just for trans girls, but for all of us.” She asserted that she has spent significant time in Congress “sitting through panels and hearings of men attempting to restrict the rights of women.”
The testimonies come as an increasingly large share of Americans believe self-described transgender athletes should not be permitted to compete in sports leagues opposite to their actual sex, according to a recent survey from Gallup. Some 69% of respondents to the poll said they think “transgender athletes” should “only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth gender,” marking a 7% increase since the question was asked two years ago.
