WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and 28 of their Republican colleagues in reintroducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, or S. 9, to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes. For the past four years, the Biden administration has taken a sledgehammer to Title IX through rulemaking at the Department of Education (ED). This legislation would reverse the harmful ED rule that forces schools to allow males to share private spaces with females and compete in women’s sports—or risk losing their funding. This is expected to be the hallmark Senate Republican legislation in the 119th Congress related to preserving women’s sports.

“Women’s sports should remain just that – women’s sports,” Senator Capito said. “Forcing girls and young women to compete against biological males robs them of their chance to succeed on an equal playing field, and flies in the face of the advancement and celebration of women’s athletics. As an athlete myself and the mother of a daughter who played a college sport, I am proud to once again join my colleagues in reintroducing this legislation that supports female athletes of all ages through fair and equal competition.” 

Specifically, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act:

  • Ensures Title IX provisions treat gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
  • Bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit a male to participate in a women’s sporting event.

The legislation is endorsed by: Independent Women’s Voice, Concerned Women for America, Heritage Action for America, and Family Policy Alliance.

Read the full text of the legislation here. 

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