House passes bill banning transgender athletes from women’s sports

01/16/2025 / By Laura Harris

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican-led bill (Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act) that bans transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions.
The bill amends federal law to require that “sex” be recognized based on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth for Title IX compliance in athletics.
The bill mandates a study to examine the potential consequences of allowing men to participate in women’s sports, including psychological, developmental and sociological impacts on female athletes.
The bill received 218 to 206 votes in the House, with two Democrats voting in favor and one Democrat voting “present” and it now moves to the Senate.
A federal court in Kentucky struck down the Biden Administration’s rule redefining “sex” under Title IX to include “gender identity,” emphasizing traditional definitions of male and female and marking a significant setback for the administration’s interpretation of Title IX.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a Republican-led bill that would ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions. The vote was 218 to 206, with two Democrats voting in favor and one Democrat voting “present.”

This bill, known as the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” was introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida. It seeks to amend federal law to require that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” for the purpose of determining compliance with Title IX in athletics.

“The distinction between men and women is clear and evident, and the erasure of this division has been promulgated by those in the radical left who seek to dismantle the core foundation of our society,” Steube said. “We must never let our country and the American way of life surrender to this immoral ideology.” (Related: UN REPORT: Biological female athletes have lost nearly 900 medals to transgender athletes.)

This bill also mandates a study by the Comptroller General to examine the potential consequences of allowing men to participate in women’s sports, including the psychological, developmental and sociological impacts on female athletes. This includes the loss of roster spots, scholarship opportunities and the overall environment of safety and fairness for women and girls in sports.

The bill received 218 to 206 votes, along with Democrats Vicente Gonzales and Henry Cueller from Texas voting in favor. The bill which now moves to the Senate, passed the House in the last Congress in April 2023 with no Democratic support and did not advance in the Senate at the time. Republicans now hold the majority, raising the possibility that the bill could become law.

Federal court strikes down Biden administration’s Title IX

A few days before the passage of the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” a federal court in Kentucky also struck down the administration’s rule redefining “sex” under Title IX to include “gender identity.”

The ruling, issued on Jan. 9 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division in Cardona v. Tennessee, blocks the rule nationwide. The decision, handed down by Judge Danny C. Reeves, emphasizes traditional definitions of male and female and represents a major victory for opponents of the administration’s expanded interpretation of Title IX.

The Biden administration’s rule, which went into effect on Aug. 1, sought to expand Title IX’s ban on sex-based discrimination in schools to include gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy-related conditions. This reinterpretation prompted lawsuits from more than two dozen state attorneys general, arguing that the rule conflicted with state laws barring transgender students from participating in women’s sports.

In its opinion, the court emphasized that Title IX was originally designed to “level the playing field” between men and women, but acknowledged enduring physical differences between the sexes as a basis for allowing separate facilities and activities.

“When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being male or female,” the court stated. “Expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.”

This ruling, along with the passage of the act marks a major setback for the administration’s interpretation of Title IX, which sought to broaden the ban on sex-based discrimination in schools to include gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy-related conditions.

GenderConfused.com has more stories about transgender athletes.

Watch this episode of “Flyover Conservatives” on how allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females is disregarding Title IX.

This video is from the Flyover Conservatives channel on Brighteon.com.