U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) took to Twitter on June 21 to thank Riley Gaines for her testimony earlier that day regarding proposed changes to Title IX.
“The fight to protect women’s sports isn’t about plastic trophies; it’s about ensuring women have the same opportunity to learn important skills,” Blackburn said in a June 21 tweet. “Thank you, Riley Gaines, for sharing why protecting Title IX is so important.”
Gaines, a former Division I swimmer and star athlete at the University of Kentucky, testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the Biden administration’s proposed amendments to Title IX that include transgender issues in schools and colleges.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law overseen by the U.S. Department of Education that was enacted in 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. The department announced the proposed changes to Title IX in April.
According to Fox News, the changes would ensure that no school or college that receives federal funding would be allowed to impose a “one-size-fits-all” policy that categorically bans transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.
The hearing, titled “Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans,” included commentary from both sides of the debate, with Gaines, now a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Voice, offering an emotional testimony to the Senate hearing about how changes are already impacting athletes.
“Women’s rights to privacy and single-sex spaces and opportunities are being encroached upon — sports, sororities, locker and dorm rooms, shelters and prisons,” Gaines said. “Some have tried to tar those of us speaking up for women’s safety, security and opportunities as ‘transphobic’ or ‘bigoted.’ This is untrue. I’ve heard from gay, lesbian, and trans-identifying Americans that agree females should not be asked to step aside to make room for male-bodied individuals — no matter how they self-identify.”
