'Not a partisan issue': McCarthy pushes back against Biden allowing biological men in female sports

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Virginia house subcommittee passes transgender athletes bill

A controversial bill that would require transgender athletes to compete on sports teams aligning with their biological gender passed its first hurdle in the Virginia General assembly on Monday Jan. 30, 2023. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addressed the rising concern over biological men competing in women's sports during a Girls and Women in Sports Day event Wednesday, alongside a panel of House Republicans and women who were forced to compete against men who identify as transgender.

McCarthy sought to draw attention to the growing number of women who are being forced to compete against men identifying as female in competitive sports, saying it is "not a partisan issue," but an issue of "fairness."

The speaker was joined by several guests, including freshman Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and NCAA All-American Swimmer Riley Gaines who are addressing the issue of female-identifying biological males being allowed to compete in female athletics.

The professional athlete described the seriousness of not only competing against biological men, but also being forced to change in a locker room with grown males.

I AM A 12X NCAA ALL-AMERICAN SWIMMER. FEMALE ATHLETES SHOULD COMPETE ON THE BASIS OF SEX, NOT GENDER

Lia Thomas is a male athlete who competed as a female when she tied with Riley Gaines. (Mary Schwalm)

"It is so wild that you can turn around and see a 6'4" biological man pull down his pants down watching you undress, and no one is willing to stick up for you?" Gaines said in an emotional statement.

Gaines tied with transgender athlete Lia Thomas during an NCAA Championship tournament in the 200-yard NCAA championships.

"Being forced to play against a biological male is not something I would wish on my worst enemies," Macy Petty, Young Women for America ambassador and NCAA athlete, said during the panel.

"It's not about hatred, but protecting our rights as biological women," she stated, referring to when she was forced to compete in a volleyball tournament against a biological male.

During the event Wednesday, Speaker McCarthy listened to athlete Riley Gaines share her story of having to compete against a biological male during a swimming competition. (Tom Williams/Rich von Biberstein)

The women stressed the importance of more politicians standing up for the issue rather than forcing female athletes into these positions, describing some as being "blinded by their political ideology," in their refusal to protect women.

VIRGINIA BILL WOULD BAN TRANSGENDER ATHLETES FROM WOMEN'S SPORTS

"It's a sad day in America when we have to introduce a bill to say men will play on means teams and women will play on women's teams," Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote in a statement read by McCarthy at the event.

Kiggans described the effort to tackle the issue as "frustrating."

In January 2021 President Joe Biden issued an executive order that students should play on sports teams and use bathrooms based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during a rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, outside of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio.  (Darren Abate)

McCarthy is leading the charge to pushback against the Biden administration advocating for biological men competing in women's sports.

House Republicans introduced the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act," legislation that seeks to recognize that in athletics, sex is "based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth."

On Monday, the Virginia House of Delegates advanced a bill to ban female identifying men from competing in women’s sports in Virginia schools. 

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"The purpose of House Bill 1837 is to protect our girls and young women from being forced to compete against biological males," Karen Greenhalgh, Republican Delegate of Virginia Beach said. "Similarly gifted and trained males will always have the physical advantage over females, which is the reason we have women’s sports."