Scholastic competition—especially college sports—has become an important part of the fabric of our country. And in increasingly divided times, athletic competitions are one of the few things that bring Americans of all backgrounds together. I think many people can agree that college athletics are a patriotic tradition, one that I am proud to have dedicated my 40-year career to prior to becoming a Senator.
Title IX in particular has played a major role in weaving together the fabric of this great American tradition. It leveled the playing field by creating opportunities for women to compete and earn the same scholarships as men. It has instilled valuable lessons such as work ethic, healthy habits, and teamwork in countless young people over the past 50 years. It has provided millions of women from across the country with educational and professional opportunities that have benefited them for a lifetime.
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Sadly, over the last four years, the Biden administration has done all it can to dismantle Title IX protections for women in favor of radical gender ideology. President Biden’s Department of Education fully intended to rewrite Title IX, issuing a rule which would force schools to allow men to compete in women’s sports and require them to share private spaces together. All in the name of "gender equity." In the past few days, they rescinded this proposed rule, perhaps realizing how out of touch that stance is with the American public. But their intent was crystal clear.
As a result, what I have long called one of the greatest pieces of legislation to ever pass out of Congress is hanging on by a thread. If the unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. continued to have their way with it, Title IX as we know it would cease to exist. Women’s opportunities to safely participate and benefit from scholastic athletics would greatly diminish—which would not just be a detriment to female student athletes, but to the entire country.
With President Trump’s resounding victory last November, the American people sent a clear message to Washington that they want to protect and preserve the original purpose of Title IX. One of the primary reasons President Trump won in a landslide is because he ran on the issue of saving women’s sports. Seventy percent of Americans agree: men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms.
Which is why I am proud that my bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, or S. 9, will be one of the first pieces of legislation considered by Congress this month. This legislation will right the wrongs of the Biden administration by preventing women from being exposed to unfair and dangerous competition, as well as protecting women’s privacy in locker rooms.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will achieve this by doing two things. First, it ensures Title IX provisions treat gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth." It’s unbelievable to me that this needs to be legislated—but after four years on the crazy train under Joe Biden, it clearly needs to be said. Second, it bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit males to participate in a women’s sporting event.
While this legislation is critically needed to stop the erosion of female athletics, it is also important to me on a personal level. For one, while most people know me as a football coach, my first job after college was coaching girls’ basketball. Title IX had just been implemented at that time, and I saw firsthand the tremendous impact it had on women’s sports. For the first time, female athletes were given the same opportunities, scholarships, and resources as male athletes. To this day, I keep in touch with the girls that I coached due to the opportunities provided by Title IX.
Furthermore, I am welcoming my first granddaughter this spring. I want for her what so many young women before her benefited from since Title IX became law in 1972. I want her to have the same opportunities available to her, without having to worry about men competing against her, harming her, or invading her privacy. I’m sure there are many parents and grandparents across the country that want the same for their girls.
Since coming to the Senate, I vowed to never stop fighting until the rights of American women and girls to fairly compete are thoroughly protected. I am glad the time has finally come where the Senate can deliver on my commitment. I encourage all my colleagues, Republican and Democrat alike, to support my legislation. By uniting behind the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, Title IX will be restored, stitching back together a piece of the American fabric that has made our country more united and less divided.
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