U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is hopeful his bill preserving Title IX protections for female athletes will soon receive a floor vote in a Republican-controlled Congress under the new Trump administration.
Tuberville refiled the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act for the upcoming Congress after it failed three times to gain any traction in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The legislation would define a person's sex based on their biological sex at birth when applying Title IX code, the sweeping name given to civil rights legislation prohibiting sex-based education discrimination. It would also remove federal funding from schools that allow biological men in female-only spaces.
In April 2024, the Biden administration proposed changes to the 52-year statute. The U.S. Department of Education announced an "update" to the Title IX code, adding gender identity and sexual orientation to the list of federally protected groups. The rule change also redefined sexual harassment, exposing teachers and students to liability for using biologically accurate pronouns. The rule change put schools at risk of losing federal funding for failing to adhere to the changes.
However, after federal courts backed several state challenges to the proposed changes, and in light of President-elect Donald Trump's November victory, the Department has slowly withdrawn its efforts.
Despite the stalled efforts of the Biden administration, Tuberville is as resolute as ever about passing his bill, which he believes would remove the possibility of future executive action.
"Over the last four years, we've seen the left try to destroy women's sports," Tuberville said. "Thousands of female athletes have watched as their opportunities, scholarships and trophies have gone to men, and many of them have been put in physical danger because of it. After losing a landslide election to President Trump in November, the Biden administration quietly rolled back some of the woke Tite IX regulations a few weeks ago. While we were glad these regulations were not finalized, they owe every single female athlete who was forced to compete against a male and apology. Their intent was made perfectly clear, and Congress needs to pass legislation to make sure this never ever happens again. We need to be 100% clear about this: biological males do not belong in any spaces designated for females. It's unsafe, it's unfair, and it's wrong. That's why I've re-introduced for the third time, The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act."
He continued, "My legislation would ensure that all Title IX provisions only recognize a person's biological gender. It would also block funding to any institution that allows biological males in any spaces designated for girls and women. This issue is important to me because I witnessed the positive impacts of Title IX firsthand shortly after it was signed into law when I was coaching women's basketball many years ago. Title IX is one of the best things to come out of this Congress. It's also become personal to me as I'm expecting my first granddaughter, Rosie Grace, in just a few months. She should never be forced to share a locker room or compete against males. I'm proud to have 30 of my Republican colleagues join me in this effort. I hope to have this bill come to the Senate floor for a vote very soon and hope more of my Senate colleagues will join in this effort to ensure our female athletes can continue to compete and thrive."
As with any issue that has touched on the issue of so-called transgender rights in recent years, Tuberville's bill will undoubtedly attract multiple lawsuits from advocacy organizations. Despite this, Tuberville believes female athletes need to be protected from what he considers to be a dangerous and immoral practice.
"There's always gonna be legal challenges, especially from the woke left, but it makes no difference," Tuberville continued. "We've got to put this in the law. I would think that on the first day after their inauguration, President Trump will go back to the White House, and one of the executive orders he will sign will have something to do with men in women's sports, which was big on his agenda during his election process. But we have to do it for law. Because, we all know, executive orders only last as long as the president's there. This needs to be written in stone. That biological men or boys do not play in women's sports. Yes, there will be lawsuits, but the woke left has attacked gender for the last four years, and enough's enough. It's time to get back to common sense in this country and know that there are men and women. If they want to have transition sports, let them do it. Let them compete against each other. But we're not gonna allow men to shower, dress or participate against women on any level.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
