I was part of the last generation of female-only athletes in women’s sports.
Discomfort changing in the locker room, missing out on competition opportunities, and facing individuals with anatomical advantages over me were things I never had to consider.
I had to worry about the mechanics of the sport, not anatomy.
And still, I can’t wrap my mind around the thought of competing in a sport, let alone a contact sport like soccer, against men. My experience is a reality that Paula Scanlan, Chelsea Mitchell, Selina Soule, and future female athletes will never experience if women’s sports are not protected.
This week Scanlan, a former member of the University of Pennsylvania’s swim team, spoke out about her time swimming with Lia Thomas, a man who identifies as a woman. She emphasized the opportunities women lost to Thomas and the lack of support they received from the university’s athletic department.
This is huge!!!! Courage begets courage. Thank you @PaulaYScanlan !!! Another voice and face to the movement. Let’s flood her with support! https://t.co/hhPEr2sJXF
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 5, 2023
While many enabled this to happen, Scanlan specifically blamed woke ideology in universities, saying, “Universities want their agenda pushed into everyone’s mind, and they don’t care if you have a different opinion because they don’t want you to have that.”
She’s right. But this isn’t just happening on college campuses.
Four track athletes from Connecticut were drawn into the fight for women’s sports. The group of female athletes, along with attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom, appealed a federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit against a Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference policy allowing biological males to compete on a women’s track team.
These women and many others, including 12-time All-American swimmer and three-time Southeastern Conference champion Riley Gaines, are just the beginning of this fight for the integrity of women’s sports and the next generation of female athletes—like the youth girls soccer team I coach every Thursday.
Transgender ideologues have a warped perspective on identity. For them, it’s your preference in gender that says the most about you.
Being your “authentic self” really is more than just gender—for athletes it’s the sports you play and the people you play sports with.
On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we discuss some important updates in the battle for the future of women’s sports.
Listen to the podcast below:
Kristen Eichamer is a senior media analyst at The Heritage Foundation. Original here. Reproduced with permission.
