Protection of women’s sports Senate hearing skipped by Democrats

ICONS is the acronym for Independent Council on Women's Sport.

There was more, almost all from Republicans. Democrats on the panel were absent sans Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the minority party’s ranking member, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., each present for less than the first hour and with only Durbin speaking.

He said the hearing was not “a responsible exercise of this committee.” No witnesses were called and no questions were asked by the party framing itself as champion for women, in part, through abortion access and representation politically.

“In South Carolina, we don’t overcomplicate this issue,” Graham said during the hearing. “Boys are boys and girls are girls. The separation of the sexes on the playing field are essential to preserving fairness and safety.

“I’m also disappointed our Democratic colleagues left the room because I think the risk of physical harm is real and has already happened.

Graham and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., represent the Carolinas on the committee and have advocated for protecting women’s spaces. Tillis reintroduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to modify the interpretation of Title IX, a part of which would prevent boys from competing in girls sports. He also urged Baker to make changes in the NCAA.

South Carolina enacted the Save Women’s Sports Act in 2022. North Carolina in 2023 overrode the veto of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, the candidate trying to succeed Tillis in the ongoing midterm election, to enact the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and on Jan. 1 this year enacted law to legally define male and female.

South Carolina language in the bill goes by sex at birth as stated on an original birth certificate. North Carolina goes by reproductive ability.

Carly Smolak, an Oregon native, Stanford graduate and retired soccer and Australian Rules football player, in her testimony said the safety of athletes builds trust from them.

“Leaders need to lead,” she said. “Cowering around this issue, hoping somebody else solves it, is so frustrating to watch because I don’t think they see what I see. I think that they are afraid.”

Polls across America overwhelmingly say boys should not be competing in girls sports. It’s more than 70% in separate polls by the New York Times, Quinnipiac and Pew Research Center. In samplings of only North Carolinians, clear majorities agree in polls from High Point University, the Carolina Journal and Meredith College.

“Democrats love to claim they are the party that supports women,” said committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “But today they didn’t bother to bring a single witness to listen and engage with the concerns that athletes and scientists are raising about men playing in women’s sports. These women deserve to have their stories heard. Female athletes need our support.”