House Pro-Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), the sponsor of the 2020 "gender is real legislation" (GIRL), is celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision affirming states' rights to protect women from competing against biological males in sports.
Pringle filed House Bill 35 (HB35) in 2020 to expand Alabama High School Athletic Association rules and to say the state, county or local municipalities cannot use public facilities for "athletic competitions in which any individual who is not a biological male is allowed to participate in athletic events conducted exclusively for males or any person who is not a biological female is allowed to participate in athletic events conducted exclusively for females."
The following year, House Bill 261 (HB261), sponsored by State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover), required all public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to prohibit biological males from participating in athletic teams or sports designated for females and vice versa. That bill passed and became law.
On Tuesday, during a segment on Talk 99.5 FM's "Leland Live," with guest-host Apryl Marie Fogel, Pringle recalled both the backlash against his bill and the support he received from parents.
"It was unreal," he explained. "But people forget this about me. At one point in time, I was a Division I collegiate assistant athletic director."
"With Title IX and what was done to promote women's athletics, women's sports, and all of a sudden, you have these men show up and start trying to dominate women's athletics," Pringle said. "I knew what was wrong the moment I saw it."
"So, I tried to address it back then, and had my share of the backlash, but I think people have begun to understand just how unfair it is for these men to come and suddenly start participating in the female life," he added.
Pringle said he was "thrilled" by the decision, and though he's a parent, it didn't take parenting to open his eyes to the problem. He saw firsthand how hard female athletes train.
"These girls who have spent their entire lifetime training, day in, day out, and some guy just shows up and takes away their ability to win their championships and set records, because they have an unfair biological advantage," he said.
Pringle joins a chorus of elected officials in Alabama celebrating the SCOTUS ruling.
"The idea that biological men should be allowed to compete in women's athletics is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. From the moment the left decided to make this a banner issue for its party, Reps. Chris Pringle, Susan DuBose, Scott Stadthagen, and the entire Republican Caucus stepped up to ensure that women in our state are protected," House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) told 1819 News in a statement. "The bottom line is that we will always stand up for the safety of women, whether that's in athletics or any other aspect of life in Alabama."
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