Lily Williams worked hard to obtain spots on the Hempfield High School girls’ track and field and cross-country teams.
But everything changed when a boy joined her girls’ team and showed up in their Lancaster locker room.
“Our team was a safe place, mentally and emotionally,” said Williams, who spoke at a press conference Monday for the Save Women’s Sports Act.
Then came a biological male identifying as female, a male who was “bigger, faster, and stronger” than the girls on the team.
The girls were confused, upset, and angry. Some started using outside Porta Potties to change in instead of the locker room. Williams, the team captain, approached the coach to tell him about her teammates’ concerns. The coach said nothing could be done, and he could not even talk to her about it.
“The fact was he was a boy and despite all the lies he was told, and the lies he told himself, he did not belong on the girls’ team.”
State Sens. Judy Ward (R-Blair) and Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montgomery) agree. They sponsored the Protect Girls and Women in Sports Act, which passed the Senate last week in a 32-18 vote.
Ward called the legislation “simply common sense.”
“As an athlete in my youth, and the mother of girls who competed in sports, I know the valuable lessons learned from competing in women’s athletics, such as leadership, grit, graciousness in winning and humility in losing,” Pennycuick added. “Let’s keep a level playing field in sports.”
The measure would ensure athletic teams designated for women are reserved for biological females in Pennsylvania’s K–12 and collegiate sports.
“According to the American College of Sports Medicine, males on average have larger hearts and lungs, greater stroke volume, and higher hemoglobin concentration, more muscle mass, less percentage body fat, and use energy more efficiently than females. All these advantages mean that for athletic events relying on endurance, strength, speed and power, males usually outperform females by 10 to 30 percent, depending on the sport,” Ward said.
“Since 2020 in Pennsylvania, 37 female athletes have lost first place and another 13 lost second or third place to men who were competing in their sports,” said Ward. Across the country, it has happened more than 100 times, and it’s caused girls and women to lose scholarships and trophies.
Emily Krebs, with Pennsylvania Family Council, supports the bill. Krebs said swimming on a team had a lasting impact on her, giving her the confidence to tackle challenges.
“I’m the mother of a young girl, and I want her to have a fair playing field,” said Krebs. “But unless something changes, unless we enact Senate Bill 9, she won’t have that.”
Krebs remembered seeing Lia Thomas, a male swimmer, win the women’s 500 freestyle in the Ivy League championship swimming for the University of Pennsylvania. He won that race “by over 7 seconds,” she said. “For the women, they were left racing for second in their own category.”
“Males continue to compete in Pennsylvania today in women’s sports,” she said. “Earlier this year, a male athlete competed in the indoor girls’ track and field competition. Two years ago, a male athlete made it to the PIAA championships in both the shot put and the discus in the women’s category. In order to win at the level, he had to displace girls in regional competitions and other levels. How many girls lost out on opportunities?”
Multiple polls show a strong majority of voters support keeping biological males out of girls’ sports and spaces. Elected Democrats, however, have largely ignored the polls and continue opposing legislation that connects gender to biology.
For Pennycuick, denying women their own opportunities violates federal law, which is why, she says, Pennsylvania lawmakers should step up on their behalf.
“As a cosponsor of the bill, I believe this is solely about fairness and opportunity and upholding the intent of Title IX. When a biological male replaces a female athlete, that individual is denied the right to equal participation as guaranteed under Title IX.”
The bill now goes to the House, where Democrats have a slim, one-vote majority.
Rep. Barbara Gleim (R-Cumberland) said she has a similar bill pending in the House Education Committee. The Senate bill is also in that committee. But because they are in the minority, they have to wait for the majority to bring the bill forward.
“I’m hopeful the majority chair will bring up the bill because it’s a fairly popular bill. It polls at 80-20. Eighty percent of the people do not believe that boys should be playing sports against girls,” said Gleim.
Ward said, “I call on the House to take up this vital legislation right away. Does it have to be your daughter for it to matter?”
