The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a critical hearing on the issue of men competing in women’s sports. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that half of the Senate Judiciary Committee held that hearing, considering the Democratic half of the Committee chose not to show up. Only Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) made a brief appearance, and the Ranking Member, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) came long enough to explain why, in his opening remarks, that this hearing was a waste of time.
This was a striking contrast to 2023 when the then-Democratic majority held a hearing on “transgender issues.” Senators from both parties attended to make their points – the Democrats that “transgender” people are being discriminated against, and the Republicans that trans ideology is false and harmful. But at this hearing, there was no one to defend the idea that men should compete on women’s sports teams.
Had the Democrats chosen to attend the hearing, they would have heard some compelling testimonies. Carly Smolak, a former professional soccer and Australian rules football player, stated that policies that allow men to compete on women’s team is “forcing girls to choose to play co-ed sports or not play at all.” She rightfully accused trans-advocates of promoting “compassionate inclusivity” with the “cudgel of sympathy,” by refusing to hurt the feelings of a trans-identifying man at the expense of every woman forced to compete or share their locker room with him.
Though Smolak never had to confront this issue personally, her former teammates have. The Australian Rules football team that Smolak was once a part of recently allowed a man to join the team. In an extremely physical sport, often involving full body contact, a former Marine has an obvious advantage against women. What’s worse is that, unbeknownst to the female members of the team, this former Marine was also a registered sex offender – again, playing a sport that requires grappling with your opponents.
As Concerned Women for America (CWA) has reported for years, this is not an isolated incident. Trans-identifying men have now stolen nearly 2300 medals from women in the United States. And it’s largely due to the fact that most sports governing bodies do not require sex testing, including the NCAA.
Another witness at the hearing, Bill Bock, would know; he was once a lawyer for the NCAA but resigned over their transgender policy. This failure to protect women is an affront to the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence. Bock stated that “the principle that women, no less than men, are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty and the right to pursue happiness is as necessary for human flourishing and the protection of equal dignity on America’s playing fields as it is in America’s corporate boardrooms, courtrooms, and halls of Congress.”
Adopting sex testing is the easiest way to verify that only women are competing on female sports teams. The once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab used to be standard practice for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Smolak pointed out that when polled, 82% of female Olympic athletes supported sex testing at the time, yet the IOC discontinued it in spite of that overwhelming support. Fortunately, the IOC announced earlier this year that it is bringing back genetic screening. Other organizations need to do the same.
There are also 23 states that still need to pass laws barring men from female sports and spaces. Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Florida) spoke about how effective her own state’s law has been when it comes to protecting women. And that is something CWA can testify to as well when our advocacy resulted in a male withdrawing from a female Irish Dance competition in Orlando earlier this year, thanks to Florida’s law.
When asked if it makes a difference if a man has been on hormone medications, Kim Jones, the co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), noted that the very question is misogynistic. Comparing a weakened man to a woman is no less insulting than saying a man at his full strength is equivalent to a woman, she argued. A man simply is not the same as a woman, regardless of the kinds of drugs he may be taking. And women should be celebrated for accomplishing athletic feats as top-performing women, rather than being compared to an amateur male.
The issue is simple, but controversial, said Jones. Either “you can protect the boy who wants to take a spot on a girls’ team or you can protect the girl for whom the spot was designated. … [but] we can’t do both. We must make a choice.”
According to CWALAC’s own polling, 70% of Americans know what that choice should be. It’s likely that many Democrat Senators could be included in that percentage and know their position is indefensible – that’s why, instead of attending a hearing on the subject and making a case for male athletes to compete as women, they chose not to participate.
Senate Democrats can pretend this is not happening by ignoring hearings on the subject, but that will not protect women from men stealing their rewards or undressing in their locker rooms. Passing legislation and forcing sports governing bodies to change their policies will.
