Lankford Continues Fight to Save Title IX, Women’s Sports

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and 18 Republican colleagues to reintroduce in the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes and ensure fair, safe competition in women’s sports across the country. The bill would counteract the Biden Administration’s plans to finalize rules that will force institutions to allow biological males to share private spaces with females and compete in women’s sports.

“It’s sad that in the United States of America in 2023 women and girls still have to fight for their right to participate equally in sports. Now women and girls face the challenges of biological males competing in their sports and depriving them of privacy in spaces like school bathrooms and locker rooms,” said Lankford. “We should pass this bill and focus on respecting the dignity of women and girls across the nation through the protection of Title IX.”

“Throughout my coaching career, I saw the incomparable success of Title IX and the educational and personal opportunities sports have provided to millions of female athletes.” said Tuberville. “For more than 50 years, this law has empowered young women to grow personally, compete professionally, and receive scholarships to further their education. The positive impacts of a fair playing field in women’s sports are unmatched, but the Biden administration is forcing female athletes to the sidelines by allowing biological males to compete where they do not belong. It’s unfair, it’s unsafe, and it’s wrong. We cannot stand by and let girls and women in sports lose to the radical left’s agenda. I am proud to introduce this legislation, and will continue fighting to preserve a level playing field for all current and future female athletes.”

Specifically, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act ensures Title IX provisions treat sex as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” and bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit a male to participate in a women’s sporting event.

The legislation is endorsed by Independent Women’s Voice, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, and Heritage Action for America.     

Joining Lankford and Tuberville as original cosponsors are Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Lankford continues to stand against Biden’s attempted redefinition of Title IX and against Biden’s woke ideology being pushed on schools, kids, and parents. Lankford was joined by 12 Republican Senators to file a public comment on Department of Education’s recently proposed rule regarding Title IX compliance in schools and to ask Secretary Miguel Cardona to withdraw the rule, citing that it undercuts the purpose of the law and promotes the left’s progressive gender ideology.

Lankford also stood up against the National Education Association (NEA) for proposing the creation of an “enemies list” at their recent conference based on those who don’t want to teach part of the progressive agenda. Lankford joined former Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and their colleagues to send a letter to Education Secretary Cardona criticizing the Administration’s proposed changes to Title IX and urging an extension of the public comment period by 30 days.

###