New lawsuit seeks to protect women’s athletics
“I believe the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and I don’t always agree, but I think she has a point. I’m disappointed to say that the emerging threat to female athletics is truly “unfinished business.”
With surprising speed and little discussion, female athletes across America find themselves poised to compete against biological males (hereafter transgender athletes). The range of sports now include baseball, basketball, cross country, cycling, dancing, football, mixed martial arts, soccer, track, volleyball, and wrestling. One local example is the controversial way the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has redefined high school athletics — sidelining deserving athletes, shattering dreams, and stealing opportunities from female athletes.
In the name of inclusion, CIAC allows transgender athletes to compete without limitation in girls’ athletic competitions if they identify as female. In less than two years, this problematic policy has already redefined high school women’s track across the state.
CIAC may pretend that it’s progressive; instead, CIAC is violating Title IX, federal legislation implemented over 50 years ago to eliminate discrimination against women in education and athletics while creating equal opportunities for them. Because of CIAC’s regressive policy adjustments, two transgender athletes have dominated the field, winning championships in 15 events that were previously held by nine different Connecticut girls. In all, two transgender athletes have taken over 50 chances to advance to nextlevel races, winning 13 titles previously held by 12 different girls.
Because of CIAC’s policy, I and other attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom are representing three brave young athletes and their parents in a lawsuit filed in federal court on Feb. 12.
It’s normal for runners to size each other up as they settle into their starting blocks. But now, when Connecticut’s elite female athletes already know who’s likely to win the race before it starts, the sport loses its meaning. The whole competition falls apart.
Anyone can guess that biological sex makes a difference in performance. That’s a key premise behind Title IX and the creation of female athletics programs. But the research goes far beyond guesswork. In January, Dr. Gregory A. Brown, Ph.D., an exercise science professor who’s authored more than 40 peerreviewed publications in the field, summarized the available research findings.
Based on his analysis, Brown notes that “[a]t the level of elite competition, men, or adolescent boys, have an advantage over women, or adolescent girls, in almost all athletic contests.” He also emphasizes that biological male physiology serves as the basis for the performance advantage. But also significant is Brown’s assessment that giving androgen inhibitors and crosssex hormones to men, or adolescent boys, after male puberty does not eliminate their performance advantage over women or adolescent girls in almost all athletic contests.
No one I know wishes transgender athletes any harm. No one questions their value as human
Turning women’s sports into a coed free-for-all simply isn’t a plausible solution for the cultural and social challenges we’re addressing.
beings, athletes, or Americans. But no one can plausibly pretend that affirming their dignity requires the deconstruction of female athletics. Where antifemale policies take hold and are applied to contact sports, women and girls can expect — not simply to miss medals, races, and scholarships — but to be literally crushed and crowded by the boys filling the arena. Even mediocre male athletes — with their bigger lungs, higher testosterone levels, and stronger muscles — can pound their female competitors. Turning women’s sports into a coed free-for-all simply isn’t a plausible solution for the cultural and social challenges we’re addressing.
Girls deserve the same opportunity as boys to excel and pursue their dreams. But allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports shatters dreams and steals opportunities. Without intervention, these young women don’t just lose the opportunity to win, but to earn college scholarships and launch their own careers in athletics, coaching, and more.
American women and girls have a great many rights and opportunities. But the potential demolition of girls and women’s sports remains “unfinished business” that should concern us all.
Christiana Holcomb is legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (@AllianceDefends) and represents three female athletes and their mothers in a federal lawsuit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.