House bill H.R. 734 – also known as the “Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act” – would ban transgender and intersex girls and women from competing in sports across the country if the bill passes. But a few women’s sports stars are fighting against it.
This week, a group of 40 professional, Olympic and Paralympic athletes signed a letter opposing the proposed legislation, according to Sports Illustrated. That group includes USWNT star Megan Rapinoe, recently retired WNBA star Sue Bird and USWNT star Becky Sauerbrunn.
The letter, which was organized by the LGBTQ advocacy group Athlete Ally, says that the bill “does not protect women in sports,” claiming that it would exclude women and girls from getting necessary “mental and physical health benefits.”
“We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few,” the letter reads. “Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law.”
We will have to see how this situation develops.
