“At least 900 medals that belonged to women went to men instead over the past few years.”
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate took a procedural vote on U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, his legislation to require federally-funded institutions to keep men out of women’s sports, locker rooms, and other spaces designated only for females. The bill did not receive the 60 votes needed to proceed. All 45 Democrats refused to stand up for female athletes and voted to block the bill.
Prior to the vote, Senator Tuberville called on his colleagues to pass this commonsense piece of legislation and preserve Title IX to keep a level playing field for current and future female athletes.
Excerpts from Senator Tuberville’s remarks can be found below, or on YouTube or Rumble.
“Over the past four years, women’s sports and women’s protections, at all levels, have been under attack. Since the beginning of time, people have agreed that sex is assigned at birth and determined by God. But under [the] Biden administration, you had people claiming that men can get pregnant. Pure, absolute insanity. But it didn’t stop there. They weren’t content just to erase gender norms that have been accepted for thousands of years. No, they wanted to allow transgender men to participate in women’s and girls’ sports. This has been happening at schools all across our country. […] Young women have been forced to compete against men and even to share locker rooms and shower time. And on top of that, your taxpayer dollars are paying for it. Thankfully, President Trump signed an Executive Order—he said, ‘no more, no more federal money to any state that allows this to happen.’ But you have to understand, this only lasts as long as President Trump is in office. We need this vote, which is going to happen in around an hour, to pass so we can make this into law. This Executive Order that he signed can be reversed.
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Congress needs to act on this to protect women’s sports to ensure Title IX protections are preserved. My bill that we are voting on today in about an hour, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, would make sure women’s rights to equal competition, equal scholarships, safe locker rooms, and that they all are protected. This legislation has already passed the House just about a month ago – with two Democrats actually supporting it. I appreciate the support of all my Republican colleagues on this. You all have joined me in championing this important cause for the past three years. I especially want to thank Leader Thune for […] bringing my bill to the floor here in the United States Senate. This will be the third time. It is hard to get a bill on this floor, but it is important to understand that. I also want to thank my friend and former Democrat colleague Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia who was the only Democrat in the last few years to support this when he was in the Senate. But unfortunately, my Democratic colleagues have been radio silent on this very issue despite the fact that a recent poll shows 67% [of] Democrats do not want men in women’s sports. 67%.
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One of the most frequent talking points I’ve heard from the other side on this is that it isn’t a big deal and isn’t impacting that many women. That’s not true. At least 900 medals that belonged to women have gone to men just over the past few years of men competing against women. In Pennsylvania alone, 66 female athletes have lost placements to male competitors since 2020. How sad is that. For each woman, the medals that went to men, there are potentially hundreds of women who lost out on that opportunity. Not to mention the hundreds of girls who perhaps did not make a team at all because they didn’t have a spot [on the roster]—you can only have so many on a team. Or the many young women who missed out on a scholarship because a man, or biological boy, took that scholarship. It’s not fair. [So] no, this is [not] a minor issue impacting a few Americans. […] I took the liberty of looking up how many women and girls participate in women’s sports in some of my Democrat colleagues’ home states. More than 77,000 girls participate in high school [athletics] in the state of Georgia. In Michigan, 114,000. In Virginia, 164,000. In New Hampshire, 17,000. Pennsylvania [has] almost 150,000. New Mexico [has] almost 20,000. Minnesota [has] 98,000. Arizona [has] 120,633. And don’t tell me it’s not going to affect these states when, today, my Democrat colleagues come on this floor that represent these states and vote against this bill. It will affect [women], and it will affect them for years. So, as you can see, men competing in women’s sports has a negative impact on a lot of different girls across this country. But you know, it’s not just trophies. It’s about playing time, it’s about learning and being on a team, learning how to win and learning how to lose.
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Last week, my wife Suzanne and I were proud to welcome our first granddaughter, Rosie Grace. She’s about five or six days old. We want her to have the same opportunities that all the other girls have had over the years. She deserves [the same rights] to fair competition, scholarships, trophies. I already bought her first pair of golf clubs—at age five days old. But if Democrats have their way today, she may one day be forced to compete against a man. Let me tell you something, if she has to share a locker room with a boy, you’re looking at a grandfather that will raise hell. If they shower in the same showers, we’re going to have problems. So, what we’re creating here is more and more problems that our country doesn’t need. I heard a story the other day about a 6th grade girl in Minnesota who was changing in a college locker room after swim practice when a biological man who identified as a female walked in and came within 5-6 feet of her to grab something. Let me tell you something, her dad became unglued. You would have too. Anybody would. This isn’t even about politics. This is about right and wrong. 79% of Americans agree on this: allowing men to compete against women is just plain wrong. 79% of the entire country. And like I said earlier, 67% of my Democratic colleagues and their constituents say, ‘no way, Jose.’ It’s not going to happen. So, to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you may want to check with your constituents before you make this vote today in about an hour.
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Because if polling is even close to correct, 8 out of 10 of your constituents do not want men competing against women. And if that doesn’t strike a chord with you, let me ask you this: Do you have daughters? Do you have granddaughters? Do you have nieces? How would you feel if they trained for years – waking up early every morning, staying after school late practicing. Putting in those long hours when nobody else is watching. Missing spring breaks, family vacations, birthday parties, and holidays, making tremendous physical and financial sacrifices. All so they could one day have the opportunity either to win a trophy or win a scholarship. But then only to have that opportunity ripped away by a bigger, better, stronger, faster male athlete because they want to participate against women.
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Thanks to President Trump’s Executive Order, the NCAA recently announced men will no longer be allowed to compete against women on the college level. While this is a step in the right direction, the NCAA’s rules still allow, to this day, the NCAA to change the rules but they still allow men—biological boys or men—to enjoy in all the other benefits of being on a women’s team—practicing, dressing in the locker room, showering. But they just can’t compete in a game. That makes no sense. The NCAA needs to stand up for young women across this country and say, ‘no way.’ It just makes no sense, when [President Trump] made that [Executive Order]. To fully protect women, Congress needs to pass legislation on this, as I said earlier. We have got to pass it. It’s the only way it’s going to stop. Because the people out there that have lost their minds are going to continue to force this to happen. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would prevent a school from receiving federal funding if it lets boys compete in women. It’s the only way we can stop it. It also defines gender as male and female. What an idea, right?
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I hope we can put politics aside and in about, and hour [or] 45 minutes, do the right thing and protect women and girls in sports.”
BACKGROUND:
Under Joe Biden, more than 900 women lost medals to men competing in women’s sports. The issue of men in girls’ and women’s sports proved to be one of the top concerns of voters during the 2024 Presidential Election. A recent New York Times (NYT) poll found 79% of respondents said men should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. This number is a 10% increase from a 2023 survey where 69% of respondents agreed that men do not belong in women’s sports. This is a bipartisan issue—the same recent NYT poll found that 67% of Democrats agree that male athletes shouldn’t be allowed in women’s sports.
In February, President Trump signed a historic Executive Order banning men from competing in women’s sports. President Trump has spoken about the need to keep men out of women’s sports on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately, Executive Orders can be reversed. That’s why on Monday, March 3, 2025, the Senate voted on Senator Tuberville’s bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would make President Trump’s Executive Order permanent. 45 Democrats voted to block the bill from proceeding.
Earlier this year, Senator Tuberville also introduced a bill to ban men from competing in women’s U.S. Olympic sports, following USA Boxing’s announcement that it would allow men to box against women.
IN THE NEWS:
Not One Democrat Senator Voted to Protect Women’s Sports From Males
White House Backs Tuberville’s Women’s Sports Legislation Ahead Of Senate Vote
After This Vote, the Dems Show They Really Haven’t Learned Anything From Their 2024 Loss
Democrats Stall Senate Bill To Protect Women’s Sports
Bill to Ban Biological Males From Women’s Sports Blocked by Democrats
Senate Dems Kill Legislative Effort to Protect Women’s Sports
Senate Democrats block GOP bill to keep male-born athletes out of female sports
Senate bid to prevent boys from playing girls’ sports get stuck on filibuster
Fight To Protect Women’s Sports Could Stall In Senate
Will Democrats stand up for women or let men destroy girls’ sports?
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
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