What Can Be Done to Save Title IX Sports for Girls and Women?

            There is a lot of unfairness in the world. Some of it comes naturally, but too much is created by humans. Most people with no agenda would consider that it is unfair for biological males to compete against biological females in physical competitions. The male body is different from the female body in significant ways, and these ways generally include more and bigger muscles and longer legs.


            A long time ago there were no high school or college athletic programs for girls. In my high school in the early 1960s, boys played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track to compete against other schools, while the girls became cheer leaders or spectators to cheer for the boys. I do not remember thinking much of the unfairness because this is how it had been for numerous years.


            According to an article written by Autumn Leva and Blaine Conzatti, the girls who were fortunate to play team sports prior to 1972 were forced to find their own funding, facilities, uniforms, scholarships, etc. Only one out of every twenty-seven girls played sports. Congress passed Title IX in 1972 “as part of a suite of civil rights laws to ensure equal access to educational opportunities, including athletics, for girls.” Someone or something caused lawmakers to open their eyes to see the unequal treatment between boys and girls. 

Lawmakers recognized that it was inherently unfair for men to receive athletic opportunities and money that that women could never hope to access – regardless  of how talented they were. The ACLU rightly championed the passage of Title IX, and female athletes have been the beneficiaries ever since.

Now, we celebrate nearly 50 years of Title IX and the amazing growth in female athletics. Today, 2 in every 5 girls play sports – a tenfold increase since 1972.

            This was a happy ending to a long fight, but it is now being challenged by biological males who “identify” as female. They appear to be males who could not win against males, so they decided to be female and compete against women.

The push for men who “identify” as women to compete in women’s divisions has suddenly become the clarion call of the left.

The same crowd that once called for equal athletic opportunities for women now cheers gleefully when a biological male mixed martial arts fighter liberally beats a woman. And the ACLU – which once championed girls sports – now wants to turn boys into girls sports champions.

            Idaho is the first state to champion women’s sports, and it passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to save sports for girls. “The new law limits participation in girls high school and college sports to biological females, preserving the spirit of Title IX for a rising generation of female athletes.”


            Less than a month after the Family Policy Alliance after the new law was signed, the ACLU sued to stop it and is using Title IX to do so. Family Policy Alliance will continue to fight for female athletes even though the ACLU has switched sides. This organization is joined by President Donald Trump who declared that “sex” in federal law means biological sex and not gender identity, and this includes in Title IX.


            Anyone who is serious about saving girls sports can unite in the #SaveGirlsSports campaign that starts on the 48^th anniversary of Title IX.

#SaveGirlsSports is the chance for female athletes and their supporters to join together to save Title IX. It’s a chance for us all to stop the ACLU’s efforts in Idaho – so that the Fairness in Women’s Sports Acts can spread to other states for the sake of our female athletes….

Nearly 50 years of girls have benefitted from Title IX and the athletic opportunities afforded to them. Why should all those advancements be washed away for our daughters and generations that come after them just to score a political point?

            #SaveGirlsSports is a worthy activity for all of us to get behind. It is not fair for males who identify as females to destroy the opportunities that women and girls fought so hard to obtain. Girls and women deserve the right and circumstances to compete on level playing fields.