Lafayette Reporter

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has authored an op-ed in the Shreveport Times, calling on Congress to take more decisive action to safeguard women's sports. In his argument, Kennedy contends that no woman or girl should be compelled to sacrifice her safety or well-being so that a transgender athlete can feel included.

The op-ed was also published in the Daily Advertiser, Houma Today, The Daily Comet, The Town Talk, The News-Star, The Weekly Citizen and Daily World.

Key excerpts from the op-ed include:

“From middle school gyms to NCAA swimming pools, activists seek to force women and girls to compete against biological men and boys. These activists claim it is a ‘myth’ that transgender athletes have an advantage, but most Americans know this is untrue and unfair.”

“Some activists claim that transgender athletes are different from typical men because they take cross-sex hormones. After two years of cross-sex hormone treatments, however, biological male athletes can still run 12% faster and pound out 10% more push-ups than women."

"Allowing biological boys to compete as girls will harm women’s sports. Still, many activists believe their feelings and the feelings of transgender athletes are more important.”

“Many fair-minded people reject the idea that women and girls who work hard to develop their athletic talents must sacrifice their opportunities, privacy and safety to promote gender activism. I’m one of them."

"Louisiana is full of fair-minded people. We recognize that it’s common sense for boys and girls to compete in separate leagues. That’s why a bipartisan coalition in the Louisiana legislature passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to prevent biological boys from competing against biological girls in our elementary and high schools and from sharing their locker rooms."

"Protecting women and girls in sports doesn’t need to be a partisan issue. Congress should follow Louisiana’s leadership and do more to protect girls, their sports, their scholarships, and their futures from a social experiment that is already proving to be unwise.”

Transgender activists across the nation have been urging athletic institutions to permit biological men and boys to compete against biological women and girls. These activists consistently refute the notion that biological men possess any athletic advantages over women.

However, the physical athletic advantages of biological men begin in utero. Baby boys experience a testosterone surge that enhances their motor skills and amplifies their aggression.

During puberty, boys develop larger hearts and lungs, enabling them to absorb more oxygen and pump blood more efficiently than girls. Girls develop a wider pelvis, which can reduce the force their legs can exert. Boys develop broader shoulders to carry additional upper-body muscle mass. The average man is five inches taller and has higher levels of bone density even when controlled for height.

These developmental differences afford biological men a significant athletic advantage that becomes even more pronounced at elite levels. For instance, high school boys regularly record faster sprint times than female Olympians, as per a study from Duke University. In many Olympic track or swimming events, the female world record holder wouldn’t qualify to compete against men. In strength-based sports such as weightlifting, men outperform elite women in the same weight class by up to 30%.

In March, several collegiate female athletes filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. They allege that the NCAA violated their 14th Amendment right to bodily privacy by allowing biological males to share a locker room with them during competitions.

Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.