On June 23, 2022, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee joined fourteen organizations from across the political spectrum in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the federal civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. Organizing this Our Bodies, Our Sports rally as part of an inaugural Women’s Sports Week was part of our ongoing fight to preserve the dignity of women and stand with female athletes in law and policy.
Following the Our Bodies, Our Sports rally, Penny Nance and Young Women for America athletes were featured at a roundtable on Capitol Hill hosted by Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (R-Indiana), followed by a press conference outside the Capitol.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senators joined the call for protecting women’s athletics. Sen. Tommy “Coach” Tuberville (R-Alabama) led the team, standing up to preserve the purpose of Title IX for female student-athletes. Sen. Tuberville urged the Senate to pass the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” in a news conference at the Capitol with several Senate colleagues. Sen. Tuberville then took to the Senate floor to ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately consider the bill for a vote. His request was blocked by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
On the same day, Biden’s Department of Education delivered on its promise to release federal regulations reinterpreting “sex” under Title IX to mean “gender identity,” among other things. The proposed rule invokes President Biden’s executive orders demanding that all federal agencies incorporate radical gender ideology, thus rejecting the biological and physiological differences between males and females as the basis for sex discrimination. The proposed rule confirms the Administration’s intent to overturn the privacy and safety of female students by mandating gender identity-based restrooms, forcing girls to compete against boys self-identifying as girls in female athletics, and requiring teachers, professors, and school officials to use so-called “preferred pronouns.” CWA CEO and President Penny Nance reacted to news of the Biden proposed regulations:
“On this 50thanniversary of Title IX, when we are proud to celebrate the accomplishment of millions of women across the country, the Biden Administration outrageously offers new regulations that would redefine sex, equating gender identity with biological reality. What a slap in the face to women who have achieved so much; Biden has just erased you.
“Years ago, CWA sounded the alarm over men unfairly stealing the trophies and risking the scholarships of female athletes. We have filed three civil rights complaints under Title IX against the universities and colleges that continue to treat women as third-class citizens. Our 500,000 members will continue to pressure the NCAA, governors, and legislators at the state and federal level to stop cheating women and level the playing field.”
In related news, FINA, the international federation of aquatic sports, released a policy on “gender inclusion” for international competition in the wake of male swimmer, Lia Thomas, dominating NCAA women’s swimming in the U.S. CWA Senior Advisor, Doreen Denny, joined NTD news to comment on this development. Watch Denny’s interview here.
