Growing up, my dad tracked time based on the Olympic Games. “By the next Olympics, you will have graduated from high school!” he would inevitably say as we huddled around the TV to critique elite athletes’ diving techniques. Or, to the newlyweds in the room, “Last time this happened, you did not even know your spouse!”
It is true that the biennial rhythm of the Olympic Games offers a moment for retrospective reflection. The 2024 Paris Olympics were unfortunately marked by accusations and unnecessary violence in women’s boxing — the inevitable product of blurring the lines between men’s and women’s sports. So, as we take to the international stage once again, let us reflect. What have we done to avoid this chaos, and are we finished?
By “chaos,” I mean the all-too-common instances of male athletes, such as Laurel Hubbard in the COVID-19-delayed 2021 Olympic Games, stealing women’s athletic opportunities. Weightlifting is categorized by both weight class and sex to maintain fairness. Hubbard raised no stinks about competing according to his weight but would not compete according to his sex-determined biological makeup, despite men having an average 66% more upper-body muscle and 50% more lower-body muscle than women.
But the once-great games continued to spiral into confusion when Imane Khelif became a worldwide news story in 2024. The International Olympic Committee’s history proved weak on the issue of sex-based fairness, and they failed women again. Khelif was ineligible to compete, according to the International Boxing Association, due to their requirements of XX (female) chromosomes. Khelif failed two sex screen tests but was still allowed to compete in the women’s Olympic category. The controversy, possibly stemming from a disorder of sexual development, was tainted by transgender-related confusion and accusations. This, of course, would have been avoided if the IOC had left identity entirely out of the game.
The IOC, and most governing bodies in the U.S., has complicated the issue of fairness in sports by misrepresenting sex as a hormone spectrum. Of course, no amount of cross-sex hormones will change an athlete’s height, lung capacity, fast-twitch muscle response, or countless other advantages. The only way to truly keep things fair is to keep the women’s category verified female. Verification can be as easy as a one-time cheek swab. And while international bodies are starting to move in this direction, Congress holds the cards for the certainty U.S. women deserve.
Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to protect women’s sports on the basis of sex. While the USOPC has made a move to align with this policy, CEO Sarah Hirshland personally refuses to validate that only women compete in women’s sports. Hirshland’s stance is so indefensible that Concerned Women for America has called for her resignation.
Many national governing bodies have conceded to U.S. policy, but some claim compliance while building loopholes the size of California. USA Volleyball, for example, verifies athletes’ sex based on birth certificates, then links a documentary to their website featuring a child who amended his sex on a birth certificate.
NGBs such as USA Volleyball are actively working against U.S. women and the president, all under the authority granted by Congress under the Ted Stevens Act. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) is looking to tighten the ship with his Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (H.R. 1028), which is gaining significant traction in the House. The bill clarifies that allowing men to compete in the women’s category is a violation of the Ted Stevens Act and disqualifies an NGB’s authorization. The House Judiciary Committee held a markup on the bill last Tuesday, and most Republican members echoed enthusiastic support and passed the bill swiftly through the committee, though not a single Democrat had the decency to vote for it.
If Congress is holding to their campaign promises to really keep men out of women’s sports, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) should bring this bill to the floor quite soon.
Additionally, the International Olympic Committee is expected to release new eligibility guidance early this year. The details are not yet public, but Congress should not wait. It is certainly not in the American spirit for an international body to dictate fairness in sports when the U.S. should take the lead.
Progress to restore the women’s category for women only in recent years has disproved radical claims of discrimination and bigotry. Swedish skier Elis Lundholm, a female who identifies as “transgender,” is competing in this year’s Olympics. Why has this not made news? Because, just as should be the case, Elis is competing according to sex, not identity.
DON’T DEFEND PLANNED PARENTHOOD, DEFUND IT
This is inclusivity; no athlete is denied a fair chance to participate in a category that aligns with their sex.
As we watch the 2026 Olympics, we can certainly celebrate that, as of now, there are no documented men unfairly competing against women. But we must demand that “by the next Olympics,” as my dad would say, no woman will have to worry whether a man is slated to take her spot. In fact, in the next few weeks, we will see if Congress and the IOC can do their jobs to make these needed protections permanent.
Macy Petty is a former NCAA volleyball player and legislative strategist for the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, dedicated to promoting biblical values and constitutional principles in public policy.