Megan Rapinoe Among Prominent Female Athletes Petitioning Title IX Change Banning Men From Women's Sports

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are among 40 female athletes who signed a petition to try and stop the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act from becoming law, according to Sports Illustrated. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., introduced the bill in February. The bill seeks to clarify Title IX by classifying athletes by biology, rather than identity.

Last week, the Biden administration proposed the exact opposite. It wants gender identity to be the determining factor with regards to funding for female athletics.

The problem with Title IX is that it became law in 1972. Of course, in the early 70s, America didn't have a such thing as "transgender athletes." Men competed against men and women competed against women.

But with the sudden rise in biological males seeking to compete against females, Title IX's language has come under scrutiny.

Steube, and most Republicans, want the Title IX language to clearly refer to a woman as ... woman. The Biden administration, and most Democrats, want woman to refer to anyone who identifies as a woman.

Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Becky Sauerbrunn -- all of whom have been outspoken that men should be allowed to compete against women -- signed a letter opposing Steube's bill.

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Megan Rapinoe, other prominent female athletes oppose Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act, a change to Title IX that protects women

A group called Athlete Ally, which refers to itself as an LGBTQ advocacy group, sent the letter.

“We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few,” the letter reads, according to SI.

“Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law.”

There are many important things to dissect within this statement. First, the letter seeks to distract from the issue at hand. They claim that bills like the one presented by Steube are hurting women's sports by focusing on the wrong issues.

But that's irrelevant. Bills can protect women from competing against men while simultaneously providing actual women with the funding and support necessary. Changing Title IX to only benefit women -- and not men -- is the entire point of Title IX in the first place.

Then, of course, they bring racial discrimination into play. When in doubt, play the race card. The Republican-backed bill, aptly named Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act, has nothing to do with athletes' skin color.

But perhaps mostly importantly, they clearly state that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against whomever they choose.

Letter purposefully avoids the name of the bill

The interesting part is that they refer to the bill as "H.R. 734." Why? Because they oppose a bill called the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act. That doesn't sound great, does it?

But when Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced HB 1557, the same group sang a different tune.

Need proof? Have you heard of HB 1557?

What if I call it the "Don't Say Gay" Bill?

It won't be long before they turn the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act into something malicious, they just haven't thought of it yet.

It's quite fascinating how hard prominent female athletes continue to push to allow men to compete in women's sports.

They don't seem to understand -- or care -- that women's sports won't exist if men are allowed to play them.

So, yes, by seeking to ban men from competing against women, they appropriately named H.R. 734.

But I suspect they already know that.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.