SE Illinois News

Former Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey is condemning President Joe Biden's push to change Title IX rules.

In the wake of Biden’s recent announcement about amending the parameters of Title IX, a report by the Prairie State Wire found that Illinois is now one of 29 states that allow boys to compete in girls’ sports on the high school level.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped short of reversing a lower court’s verdict that blocked enforcement of a law passed two years ago in West Virginia that prohibited boys from taking part in girls’ high school sports.

Just over a year ago, University of Pennsylvania male swimmer Will “Lia” Thomas won two titles in the women’s NCAA swimming championships but was scorned and labeled a “cheat” by many, such as University of Kentucky star Riley Gaines, whom she tied in the 200-meter freestyle championships.

The SE Illinois News reached out to Bailey for his opinion on allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports. 

"I think the President and Democrats are sickening for even thinking of doing something like this," he told the News. "There is absolutely no reason why a person born a male should be allowed to participate in female sports."

Bailey elaborated by stating that males have an unfair advantage when competing in women’s sports.

"With women sports just getting where it is on a national level it’s sad that men would be doing something like this," he said. "It’s a total slap in the face to everyone that has worked so hard to elevate women’s rights. We see what's taken place when men get involved in competitions in this way. Men are innately stronger, that’s why we have male and female sports.

"I think that mental health issues pose probably one of the biggest problems to society today and I think this way of thinking is another example of democrats having a mental crisis."

Along with Illinois, the states that allow boys to participate in girls’ high school sports are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin; the Wire said.