Dear Senator Loeffler,

As organizations representing hundreds of thousands of women and female athletes across America, we write to endorse the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2020.” This bill amends Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to clarify,

“It shall be a violation…for a recipient of Federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”

It is unfortunate that this bill is even necessary, but what is happening in female athletics today makes it essential. Although no basis exists in federal law, middle and high schools, colleges, and the NCAA are twisting the intent of Title IX, the federal law which prohibits discrimination in educational programs on the basis of sex, by allowing men who claim to “identify as women” to compete on women’s teams and against female athletes.

Title IX’s purpose and benefit are negated for women whenever the playing field is accessible to male athletes claiming status as women. Title IX’s prohibition of sex discrimination is based on sex – male and female. It does not define sex based on “gender identity.” It does not sanction males, with distinct physiological advantages regardless of treatment, to compete in female sports.

Policies allowing for inclusion in sex-specific sports on the basis of “gender identity” have no substantiation in biological fact or valid medical research to defend males competing in female athletics. Studies attest to the reality that puberty, testosterone, and innate biological differences give physical advantages to males that cannot be mitigated and, therefore, disqualify female athletes from fair competition when males compete in women’s sports. To deny these facts is to deny science.

The Karolinska Institute of Sweden concluded that “muscle strength, size and composition following 12-months of gender-affirming treatment in transgender individuals retained advantage” for males identifying as women.[1] Exercise physiology expert, Dr. Gregory A. Brown of the University of Nebraska published an exhaustive review of existing research, concluding that “men and adolescent boys perform better in almost all sports than women and adolescent girls because of their inherent physiological advantages that develop during male puberty.”[2]

In United States v. Virginia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing for the majority recognized the relevance of sex-based classifications as permissible because certain “differences between men and women” are “enduring”.

We applaud you for introducing this critical legislation. Protecting fairness and equality for women and girls in sports should not be a partisan issue. It should be an issue that unites all members to stand for women’s rights and the intent and purpose of Title IX.

Sincerely,

Penny Young Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America LAC

Natasha Chart
Chair
Women’s Liberation Front

Carrie Lukas
Vice President
Independent Women’s Voice

Beth Stelzer
Founder
Save Women’s Sports

Kaeley Triller Harms
Co-Founder
Hands Across the Aisle Women in Coalition

Miriam Ben-Shalom
Co-Founder
Hands Across the Aisle Women in Coalition

Jessica Anderson
Executive Director
Heritage Action for America

Inga Thompson
3-time Olympian
Founder of the Inga Thompson Foundation

Misha Fayant
Co-Founder
XX Fair Play Rights

Kara Dansky
Women’s Human Rights Campaign – USA

Kristopher Hunt, MD FACEP
Medical Director
USA Powerlifting

Kathy Roper
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Arizona

Marlo Tucker
State Director
Concerned Women for America of California

Ruth Smith
Area Director
Concerned Women for America of California

Terri Johannessen
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Florida

Tanya Ditty
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Georgia

Barbara Ferraro
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Hawaii

Deborah Leininger
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Illinois

Barbara Saldivar
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Kansas

Penny Morrell
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Maine

Bev Ehlen
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Missouri

Haven Howard
Area Director
Concerned Women for America of Missouri

Jill Siceloff Coward
State Director
Concerned Women for America of North Carolina

Mary Francis Forrester
Associate Director
Concerned Women for America of North Carolina

Linda Thorson
State Director
Concerned Women for America of North Dakota

Dilonna Coran
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Pennsylvania

Madison Rainey
State Director
Concerned Women for America of South Carolina

Linda Schauer
State Director
Concerned Women for America of South Dakota

Ann Hettinger
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Texas

Kori Peterson
Area Director
Concerned Women for America of Texas

Beverly Roberts
Area Director
Concerned Women for America of Texas

Janet Robey
Associate State Director
Concerned Women for America of Virginia

Maureen Richardson
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Washington