There has been controversy about whether trans girls (biological males) should be allowed to play on girls' high school athletic teams. | Pexels/Pixabay
There has been controversy about whether trans girls (biological males) should be allowed to play on girls' high school athletic teams. | Pexels/Pixabay
Illinois Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Carbondale) criticized President Joe Biden's efforts to change Title IX rules to block states from preventing boys from playing girls' sports, saying the effort would virtually eliminate most girls' athletics.
"What we are doing by allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports is essentially erasing female sports," Jacobs told SE Illinois News. We are telling girls that their hard work and practice mean nothing. Boys should compete against boys, and girls should compete against girls."
In the wake of Biden’s recent announcement about amending the parameters of Title IX, 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. Many, such as Jacobs, say boys "absolutely have an unfair advantage" when competing against girls.
Former University of Pennsylvania men's team swimmer Lia (formerly Will) Thomas won two titles in the women’s NCAA swimming championships, but earned criticism from many, such as rival Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who Thomas tied in the 200-meter freestyle championship. Gaines and Jacobs have said Thomas has the edge being a man competing against women.
"The World Athletics Council is barring males from competing against women in track-and-field because of the unfair advantage males have," Jacobs said. "We should follow their lead and prevent males from competing in women’s sports."
Along with Illinois, the states that currently allow boys to participate in girls’ high school sports are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, 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.
"Girls and boys deserve to have athletics opportunities, but they deserve to compete on a level playing field," Jacobs said. "The fairest way to do this is to allow girls to compete against other girls and boys to compete against other boys. It has worked well this way for a long time. There is no reason to change it now."
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