National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day to honor the success, triumphs, hardships, and accomplishments of female athletes, falls on February 7, 2024 this year. Women’s sports have made tremendous progress since the enactment of Title IX in 1972.

Ironically, fifty years later, gender ideologues are twisting Title IX to sideline female athletes. 

How much do you know about transgender-identifying athletes and equal athletic opportunities for women? Can you identify which of the following statements is not true? 

A. Federal law requires schools to provide equal athletic opportunities for males and females.

B. Without separate men’s and women’s sports, female athletes wouldn’t have the same athletic opportunities as men.


C. Allowing transgender-identifying athletes to participate in women’s sports won’t negatively affect female athletes. 

Let’s take these statements one at a time:

A. TRUTH! Title IX prohibits schools that receive federal money from discriminating “on the basis of sex.” This non-discrimination statute applies to all aspects of the educational experience, including athletics. High schools, colleges, and universities that receive any federal money are required to “provide equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes” (male and female).

B. TRUTH! Without separate teams for women and men, men would dominate women in competitive sports where strength, size, or speed are relevant factors. That is because, physiologically, the average male is stronger, bigger, and faster than the average female. Federal regulations that enforce Title IX, therefore, provide that schools “may operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex.” Given the competitive advantage that male athletes generally have over female athletes, Title IX plays an important role in leveling the proverbial “playing field.” 

C. LIE! Female athletes who are forced to compete against male athletes (even those who are hormonally impaired) are at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, for women’s athletic teams with limited roster spots, the inclusion of male athletes necessarily takes spots (and potentially scholarships) away from female athletes. 

Bottom line: In the realm of athletics, sex differences matter. Women have fought long and hard for equal athletic opportunities. Ignoring the biological differences between males and females will inevitably erode some of those gains.