EXCLUSIVE: As the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act heads to the Senate after passing the House, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., believes it will continue to see support bipartisan, just as she did in the House.
Blackburn told PK Press Club Digital in an exclusive interview that she has spoken to several Democrats across the aisle who support restricting trans inclusion in women’s sports.
“Many of my Democratic friends will tell you they think Title IX is a thing and having biological males competing against females is inappropriate, and they want opportunities for their daughters, nieces or grand- girls, and it’s frustrating for them when they hear or about or witness a transgender man playing in a women’s or women’s league,” Blackburn said.
Senator Marsha Blackburn speaks during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Getty Images)
When the bill passed the House last Tuesday, Reps. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, Democrat of Texas, were the only two Democrats to vote in favor of it. Blackburn expects and hopes that several Democratic senators will vote in favor of the bill when it comes before the Senate.
“I would expect there to be some, I hope there will be some,” she said.
However, most Democrats remain strongly opposed to the bill. Many have gone so far as to assert, without any basis, that the law would allow child predators to conduct genital exams on young girls.
Many of the 206 Democratic representatives in the House, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have made this argument despite the lack of language in the bill of law indicating that genital examinations would be used.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Republicans have insisted that proof of sex at birth can be determined simply by a birth certificate. Democrats’ attempt to tie the bill to empowering child predators alienated many loyal voters from the party, PK Press Club Digital previously reported.
Blackburn says she has “no idea” what Democrats who have argued it would empower child predators are thinking.
“I find it very hard to believe that protecting girls in sport could have such a detrimental effect,” Blackburn said. “Examining the contents of the bill is the best way to oppose it and know that a large majority of Americans support protecting girls in women’s sports.”
A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found that the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not believe transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as female should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Controversies over trans athletes competing against women have become a key election issue in 2024, as President Donald Trump and failed Republicans have all pledged to take action to prevent it.
The GOP indicated it would keep its promise early, as the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act was the very first bill introduced in the 119th Congress. Blackburn plans to vigorously advocate for the bill once it reaches the Senate, where the Republican majority and some Democrats are expected to forward it to the White House for Trump to sign.
HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORT POSTPONED THE 2024 ELECTIONS AND UNMOULDED A NATIONAL COUNTER-CULTURE
However, Blackburn doesn’t stop there. She also presents three other proposals to address the problem at both a legislative and cultural level.
The Tennessee senator introduced a resolution calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to revoke its transgender student-athlete eligibility policy, alongside Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla.
Charlie Baker, president of the NCAA faced questions and criticism from Republican lawmakers regarding these policies during a December 17 congressional hearing. Baker repeatedly cited federal law and recent federal court decisions that allowed it. Blackburn and Steube’s resolution would force Baker and the NCAA to follow a new precedent.
Blackburn is also introducing a bill to assess and prevent violence against women in sport. The Fair Play for Girls Act, which, in addition to keeping women’s sports restricted to women, would “require the Attorney General of the United States to submit to Congress an analysis of violence against women in athletics.”
“We’ve talked to different women who have experienced negative consequences,” Blackburn said. “It would require the attorney general to do an analysis and look at what’s happening in the world of sports with women and for women, and then look at where there are barriers to fair competition for girls, where it happens that girls are losing opportunities because a girl joined their team or plays in their league, and then also looking at harassment against women and girls in athletics.
Blackburn is even seeking to ingrain conscious protection of women and girls in sports into American culture with a resolution declaring October 10 “American Girls in Sports Day,” something Senate Democrats blocked in the last Congress.
The date October 10, which translates to XX in Roman numerals, refers to the XX chromosomes which determine female sex at birth.
“It would just be about teams and schools celebrating their teams and looking at it as a time for schools to provide an opportunity to coach girls who have excelled in different sports. I think that would be a source of encouragement for more young girls to participate in sports,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn’s legislative proposals were endorsed by A.iley Gaines, Jennifer Sey, Caitlyn Jenner, Sage Steele, Concerned Women’s Legislative Action Committee for America, Parents Defending Education Action, and Independent Women’s Forum.
