The ERLC joined a letter to oppose biological men in women’s sports. This letter from U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn and 22 of her Republican colleagues urges National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker to update their student-athlete policy to ensure only biologically female students can participate in women’s sports:
NCAA Has Done Nothing to Ensure Fair Play in Women’s Sports
“Amid the Biden—Harris administration’s unprecedented assault on Title IX, we write to urge the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to update your student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports. The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us, and the NCAA has boasted about its athletes’ participation. Yet the NCAA has still taken no steps to protecting a critical portion of these athletes. Several organizations—including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport—in addition to more than 20 states, have acted recently to protect women’s sports. We urge the NCAA to follow suit and take similar action to promote fair play.”
The Science is Clear: Biological Males Have Innate Athletic Advantage Over Biological Females
“The science is clear. Males have inherent athletic advantages over females due to their anatomy and biology—including through having larger hearts, higher red blood count, greater lung capacity, longer endurance, larger muscle mass, differences in bone density and geometry, and lower body fat. Consistently, when adult males’ athletic performance is contrasted with adult females’ athletic performance in sports relying on endurance, muscle strength, speed, and power, males dominate, outperforming females by 10 to 30 percent… there is an understanding that male hormones give athletes a material and competitive advantage in sports. To allow biological men to compete in women’s sports, while considering testosterone a performance enhancer, is intellectually dishonest. These facts cannot continue to be ignored by the NCAA.”
Women Deserve an Even Playing Field, and NCAA Must Join Other Athletic Organizations to Promote Fair Play
“In April of this year, the NAIA Council of Presidents unanimously approved a new policy prohibiting the participation of males in women’s sports. Similarly, in June of this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Lia Thomas lacked standing to challenge World Aquatic’s policy barring Thomas from competing in the women’s category for the Olympics. These decisions are rooted in the fundamental knowledge that—while each individual should have access to sports—men and women have biological differences that must be respected… The very bedrock of sport is the exhibition of a commitment to excellence, grace under pressure, and fair play among competitors—all of which is threatened absent an even playing field. Women deserve that even playing field and chance to compete, one that can only be achieved by ensuring that only females compete in women’s sports. We urge you to follow the lead of the NAIA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport and adopt policies that protect women’s sports.”
“Both our biblical understanding of God’s design for gender and sexuality as well as mounting scientific evidence underscore the necessity of protecting women in sports. When biological realities are ignored, women are the ones who suffer. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission supports Senator Blackburn’s leadership on this important topic and urges the NCAA to protect the safety and fairness of women’s sports.”
Endorsement from Hannah Daniel, ERLC Director of Public Policy
