NASHVILLE, TENN. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and 20 other Republican colleagues in issuing a clear rebuke of U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s proposed changes to Title IX and condemning the Biden administration’s plan to force schools to allow biological males to compete in female sporting events.

“Title IX was enacted to ensure that women and men have equal opportunities, including in sports,” said Senator Blackburn. “Women deserve a safe, fair, and welcoming space in college athletics where they can compete on a level playing field with those of the same sex. The Biden administration is intent on erasing women in the name of appeasing transgender activists. Science affirms the fact that men and women are different, and it is essential that we protect women’s sports from those who want to blur the lines between men and women.” 

“Our comment sent to Secretary Cardona echoes what most Americans already know to be true: forcing schools to allow biological males to compete against young women is unfair, unsafe, and wrong,” said Senator Tuberville. “Last year, a record number of parents, coaches, and athletes responded to a proposed change to Title IX because they care about the future of female athletes. Sadly, the Biden administration ignored their concerns and plowed ahead with a policy that’s deeply out-of-touch with the majority of the country. I dedicated my career to being a coach and mentor because I care about our country’s young people. I will not give up the fight to save women’s sports.”

Senator Blackburn and her colleagues submitted a comment to Secretary Cardona in response to his department’s proposed rule, “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams.”

“Congress made clear that its intention in passing Title IX was to prohibit discrimination against women participating fully in all aspects of athletic and academic opportunity at institutions that received federal financial assistance,” wrote the senators. “This proposed rule uses weakly-associated case law and polarizing social concepts to broaden the definition of women and girls to include individuals who identify as women, and in so doing, the intent of the law is destroyed and women are marginalized yet again.”

In addition to Senators Blackburn and Tuberville, the comment submitted to Secretary Cardona was signed by U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tedd Budd (R-N.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.).   

Specifically, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act:

• Ensures Title IX provisions treat gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
• Bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit a male to participate in a women’s sporting event.

BACKGROUND:

• This year, Senator Blackburn and Senator Tuberville, along with 20 of their Republican colleagues, reintroduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in order to maintain Title IX protections for female athletes and ensure fairness and safety in women’s sports.

• WATCH Senator Blackburn press Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to define the word “woman” during her nomination hearings.

The full comment submitted by the senators can be found HERE.