U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) continued his push for his new bill, the Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, on Wednesday.
On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Tuberville spoke with the media about why the act is important and how it protects female athletes.
In the past 20 years, there have been nearly 30 biological males that took home women's championship titles. Last year, Tuberville said, multiple women suffered concussions from volleyballs that were spiked by males. He said one of the women suffered vision impairment from the incident. Along with injuries, female athletes have been denied scholarships that were given to males, Tuberville claimed.
Tuberville said more than 50,000 young women played sports in Alabama last year. He said that could be a thing of the past if laws aren’t passed to preserve women’s sports.
“Make no mistake, this is a direct attack on women,” Tuberville said. “Not only is Joe Biden taking away opportunities from female athletes, he’s putting them in danger.”
Tuberville drafted the Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The bill prohibits governing bodies “recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) from allowing men to participate in any athletic event intended for females.”
Following USA Boxing’s policy change to allow men to compete against women, Tuberville introduced the bill to stop what he called “nonsense.”
“So now, people are going to pay to watch men punch women for sport,” Tuberville added. “It’s disgusting but that’s where we are as a society now.”
Alliance Defending Freedom, American Principles Project, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Heritage Action, Independent Council on Women's Sport (ICONS), Independent Women's Forum (IWF), International Consortium on Female Sport (ICFS), Women's Declaration International USA and Women's Liberation Front support the bill.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the House.
"As an athlete who has experienced the injustice of competing against a male firsthand, I'm grateful for the leadership of Representative Steube and Senator Tuberville. They have made it clear that they will fight for fairness, privacy, and safety for girls and women in sports,” said Riley Gaines, 12x NCAA All-American Swimmer and Independent Women's Forum ambassador.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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