McCollum Opposition to H.R. 28, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 28, which would open the door to invasive surveillance and physical inspections of young women and girls as a condition of their participation in sports. 

Sports should be safe, accessible, and fair for everyone. Participating in sports helps young people develop skills like leadership and teamwork and builds their self-esteem. All children, no matter their gender, should have the opportunity to develop these skills in a supportive community. 

Instead, this Republican-led Child Predator Empowerment Act puts the privacy, security, mental health, and physical well-being of young female athletes at risk. H.R. 28 would allow anyone to challenge and target kids with questions about their gender. It would subject minors to deeply personal questions about their bodies and to physical inspections of their genitals by strangers without their parents present. 

The reality is that there are already athletic associations that take issues like fairness and safety into account when determining gender-based eligibility guidelines for different sports at different levels of competition. Professional athletic organizing bodies like the International Olympic Committee and National Collegiate Athletic Association have already addressed participation for trans athletes within their respective sports. There is bipartisan recognition of the damaging impact of a complete ban on the participation of transgender children in youth sports, as evidenced by the vetoes issued by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in response to similar legislation introduced and passed by their respective legislatures.                                                                 

If we want to take action in this Congress to truly support female athletes and women’s sports, then we could address issues like equal pay, ending institutional mistreatment of female athletes, and broadening opportunities for participation for historically excluded communities. We could work to protect athletes from sexual abuse, instead of taking up a bill that creates new conditions that predators can exploit. The majority of athlete sexual assault cases involve coaches, trainers, or other sports administrators, who could be inspecting young women and girls under this law.

The enforcement of H.R. 28 would cause lasting damage to student athletes and to school-based athletics, all while isolating and stigmatizing transgender and intersex youth. I urge my colleagues to vote against this deeply misguided legislation.

Thank you, and I yield back.