Biden takes a side in the culture wars with transgender sports push
Haisten Willis
The Biden administration has charged into the culture war with a declaration that limits how far states can go with gender-based sports restrictions.
The Department of Education on Thursday released regulatory proposals for Title IX that will curb several state laws requiring athletes to compete based on their biological sex.
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“Today’s proposed rule is designed to support Title IX’s protection for equal athletics opportunity,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “We welcome and encourage public comment on the proposed regulation and will continue working to ensure Title IX’s effective protection for all students.”
The proposal only requires schools to allow students in elementary grades to compete in sports based on their gender identity while leaving some wiggle room for high school and college sports to be decided by individual schools. The White House billed the proposal as a way to back transgender athletes.
“LGBTQI+ kids are resilient. They are fierce. They fight back. They’re not going anywhere,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “And we have their back. This administration has their back.”
Jean-Pierre also announced a national crisis hotline as a new Biden administration service for transgender children, saying, “You are loved just as you are.”
Republicans, meanwhile, called the move an attack on women’s sports that undercuts the purpose of Title IX.
“Title IX was meant to protect women’s sports,” tweeted Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “Now, Biden is using Title IX to destroy them.”
The question is where voters will fall. A Republican operative confidently predicted victory.
“Republican governors will keep leading where Biden is failing,” the operative said. “Whether it’s about the economy or protecting women, voters will choose the GOP any day of the week.”
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The move sets the White House up against several GOP governors, most notably presidential hopeful Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
DeSantis is known for his engagement on these issues, and the Florida Senate voted to approve a ban on transgender treatments for children just two days before the announcement.
On Friday, the North Dakota legislature sent eight anti-transgender bills to its governor. Overall, 20 states have enacted legislation to ban biologically male students from competing in high school women’s sports, according to the Associated Press.
Manny Diaz Jr., Florida’s commissioner of education, has announced that his state will be one of many to fight the proposals.
“We will never allow boys to play in girls’ sports,” he wrote. “We will fight this overreach tooth and nail. And we will stop at nothing to uphold the protections afforded women under Title IX.”
The White House also drew some backlash from transgender activists who accused President Joe Biden of trying to “straddle the fence” while providing guidelines allowing the exclusion of transgender athletes.
Polls show some division over the issue. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that just 3 in 10 respondents support biological men competing against women in high school sports. Even in a category labeled “youth sports,” just 33% said it should be allowed.
On the flip side, an NPR-Ipsos survey found that only 3 in 10 respondents supported laws preventing transgender youth from accessing gender-related treatment, potentially giving Democrats an edge when it comes to that side of the issue.
The nuance of the Biden administration policy means White House officials can say they’re not prescribing that biological men compete against women in all sports. However, conservatives argue that this will be the effect.
“The Biden administration is trying to have their cake and eat it too: inject gender identity into athletics while placing the onus upon school districts to determine whether doing so would be problematic or not,” Nicki Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, said. “Without a doubt, institutions are going to err on the side of ‘inclusion’ because they fear the wrath of the Education Department.”
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The Alliance Defending Freedom called the proposal a “slap in the face” to female athletes that “tells them that their athletic goals and placements do not matter.”
As the 2024 presidential election nears, the issue of transgender rights is only likely to intensify. The same day the Education Department announced its proposal, swimmer-turned-women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines was whisked to safety by police after being confronted by pro-transgender protesters at a speaking event.