Last year, Concerned Women for America (CWA) signed a letter to Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, asking for her attention to men competing in women’s Olympic categories. It’s been over a year, and Hirshland has instead dug her heels in on her refusal to keep women’s sports for women only. So, CWA has officially called for her resignation.
Last year’s letter to Hirshland was simple. It read:
A simple, accurate, non-intrusive, spit test is available to screen competitors in women’s sports to prevent men from taking women’s places and from fighting against and injuring women. Thus, there is no valid excuse for sport leaders who permit male violence against women to become the defining legacy of the Paris Olympic Games. We urge you to act forcefully, decisively and immediately stand up and reject violence against women.
While extreme politicians insisted the issue of men competing in women’s sports was “complicated,” CWA offered a simple, effective means to ensure the safety and opportunity the USOPC is obligated to offer under The Ted Stevens Act.
Several international sports governing bodies have adopted sex testing measures, for example, World Boxing and World Athletics. As a former athlete myself, I can attest that a one-time cheek swab is a more than reasonable solution, as I once had to undergo three times weekly COVID testing, blood tests, annual physicals, mental health screenings, and more to confirm my NCAA eligibility. The swab would biologically confirm that the athletes competing in the women’s category are indeed women, without requiring any invasive or inconclusive investigations.
But even with their failures drawing attention from the President, the USOPC has not amended its “Guiding Principles” that say “it is not fair if athletes cannot participate or compete in sport because of their gender identity.” Rather, they have only attached a reference to a new USOPC athlete safety policy that directs national governing bodies (NGBs) to comply with President Trump’s executive order Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.
But many of these NGBs have not fully complied. For example, USA Volleyball’s new policy determines its categories based on the participant’s birth certificate, which can be amended in most states. When Fox News asked Hirshland if she would consider genetic testing to promote fairness in the women’s category, she replied, “Defining eligibility for competitions has to happen at the individual sport level, whether that’s globally or nationally.”
As the CEO of the USOPC, Hirshland should be the leading voice of reason for fairness and opportunity in athletics globally. However, she has continued to fail in her responsibilities, dug her heels into regressive ideals, and thus, failed her obligations to our nation. For these reasons, Concerned Women for America has called for her resignation.
In a statement released last week, CWA’s CEO and President, Penny Nance, said;
“It is the USOPC’s job to ensure the safety and integrity of sport for female athletes. The USOPC CEO should resign for refusing to acknowledge and stand by the principle that women’s sport is for female athletes only. If Hirshland won’t stand up for women, she’s not worthy of leading the USPOC or representing our country,”
“Hirshland is claiming that individual sports define eligibility, but ultimately, she is failing to lead at a critical time. She has a dismal record ignoring this injustice. The USPOC can, and should, support sex verification testing to make sure only biological women are competing in women’s sports. If Hirshland cannot support this testing that will provide fair competition for female athletes, and cannot fully commit to preventing biological men from competing in women’s sport, she must go,”
The statement was first covered by Outkick, then shared by Yahoo Sports and more, but Hirshland has failed to respond. CWA will remain committed to promoting fair and safe opportunities for women, and to that end, will call out any “leader” who embraces, or even just cowers behind, harmful ideologies that put women at risk.
