Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) recently joined U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and others in introducing legislation to protect athletic opportunities for female athletes.
Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (S.251). The bill addresses compliance with Title IX provisions dealing with athletics to ensure gender is “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
“Female athletes of all ages should be allowed fair and equal competition, which means competing against other women. It is categorically unfair for females to be forced to compete against biological males,” Hyde-Smith said. “Allowing boys to compete in girls athletic competitions is already leading to warped results and an unfair playing field for young women.”
S.251 stipulates that any recipient of federal funding who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities that permit males to participate in a women’s sporting event would violate statutory regulations outlined in Title IX.
Additional original cosponsors of the measure include U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
Outside organizations supporting the bill include: Concerned Women for American (CWA), American Principles Project (APP), Family Research Council (FRC), Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC), Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Save Women’s Sports, Heritage Action for America (HAFA), Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Family Policy Alliance, and Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF).
S.251 has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
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Release from Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
