Talking about the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act”

In the last few months of the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump and his allies made issues relating to transgender people a major focal point of the political conversation, spending over $200 million on attack ads on the subject. Now, the incoming Congress is indicating that they intend to maintain that focus as a priority in their governing agenda.

One of the first bills the incoming leaders plan to bring to the floor in both the House and Senate is the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” a blanket ban on transgender girls playing school sports at every age and level of competition. While the House and Senate versions have minor differences, both pieces of legislation threaten to revoke federal funding from schools that allow transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams, essentially implementing a nationwide ban. This legislation passed the House last Congress 219-203, with Democrats remaining united against the bill, and died in the Democratically controlled Senate. With a Republican trifecta now taking power in Washington, it will be even more important for pro-LGBT policymakers to stand firm against this blanket ban to keep it from being signed into law by President Trump.

While public opinion on transgender people participating in sports is complex, when push comes to shove, most Americans don’t want blanket bans like this one. Voters hold nuanced views on this issue: they want transgender kids to be able to live their lives and play with their friends, but they also think there should be rules to keep sports fair and student athletes safe, especially at older ages and more competitive levels. There is room to have a robust conversation about what participation rules and enforcement mechanisms are right for each age, sport, and level of competition while also opposing a total ban that treats archery and bowling the same as football and basketball and applies to elite college athletes and elementary schoolers alike. Here are some key points to emphasize in talking about why a blanket ban isn’t the right policy, informed by over a dozen rounds of public opinion research we’ve conducted around these issues.

• We all want sports to be fair and student athletes to be safe. That’s why school districts and sports associations make rules about who can participate in different sports at different levels across a range of issues, including this one. They don’t need politicians in Washington overriding their expertise and governing bodies with a one-size-fits-all blanket ban from the top down for every age and sport.
• A nationwide sports ban like this one would be bad for all women and girls. Enforcing this policy would require young girls to answer invasive personal questions about things like their menstrual cycle, or even undergo physical inspections, if they want to play sports. That is a major violation of privacy and opens the door for more abuse in women’s athletics.
• If passed, this legislation would also invite people to question the gender of girls who doesn’t look stereotypically feminine, leading to more harassment and bullying. We have already seen this impact begin to play out in states that have adopted this kind of policy: for example, a female basketball player in Utah faced a slew of online hate after a Republican official falsely accused her of being transgender because of her larger build. This humiliation could happen to female athletes because of their height, hair length, athletic build, or even how they dress, allowing a stranger to call for a “gender check” on any girl in the country who wants to play sports.
• Participating in sports teaches important values like perseverance, dedication, self-assurance, and teamwork. We should want more young people to play sports, not put up more barrier for girls across the country that subject them to invasive interrogation or make them risk public ridicule in order to join a sports team.

As this debate comes to the forefront in Congress, pro-LGBT policymakers should also keep in mind that the conversation about sports participation does not live in isolation. Proponents of these bills have made clear that they do not intend to stop at banning transgender people from playing sports—in fact, this is just the first step in their effort to roll back protections for transgender people across the country, and ultimately make it impossible or even illegal for transgender people and their families to access health care. In discussing this issue, we must be mindful that referring to transgender women as “boys” or “biological boys” only adds fuel to that fire and further enables those who do not believe transgender people exist or that being transgender is real. Opposing a blanket ban on participation in every sport at every age and every level is crucial—but ensuring that we speak respectfully of all Americans while we have this debate is even more imperative. Because unfortunately, this is the first, not the last, we will see of attacks on transgender people and their families this Congress.

Additional Resources:

Embracing Balance on Transgender Issues

Handling Attacks around LGBT Youth

How to Talk about Gender-Affirming Care

How to Talk about Transgender Youth