Arkansas governor signs bill to protect women's sports
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s signing Thursday of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (S.B. 354), a bill sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin and Rep. Sonia Barker that protects opportunities for women and girls in athletics by ensuring they are not forced to compete against men playing on women’s sports teams:
“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, and Gov. Hutchinson and the Arkansas Legislature have acted to ensure that happens for all female athletes in the state, whether in high school or college. It’s unfair to force women and girls to compete in sports against males. We commend the governor and state lawmakers for standing up to the corporate interests and activists who have been pressuring them to cave to a ‘woke’ agenda at the expense of women and girls. The law also provides female athletes with legal recourse if their rights are violated. That’s vital because allowing males to compete in girls’ sports destroys fair competition and women’s athletic opportunities—the very things that Title IX was designed to protect in federal law. When we ignore science and biological reality, female athletes lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete. We thank Gov. Hutchinson and Arkansas legislators for recognizing that and helping to protect a rising generation of young women so they can continue to pursue their dreams.”
ADF attorneys represent collegiate female athletes in Idaho who are defending that state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act against an ACLU lawsuit attacking the new law. ADF attorneys also represent high school female athletes in Connecticut who are challenging a policy that has allowed boys to consistently deprive them of honors and opportunities to compete at elite levels.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based organization in advancing every person's God-given right to live and speak the truth in the U.S. and around the world. She oversees more than 450 ADF team members in 10 global offices. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, three of which were argued by Waggoner: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Uzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. ADF also has a strong record of international success at the European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, and other leading courts and tribunals and has secured the release of more than 1,000 imprisoned Christians. After clerking with Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders, Waggoner practiced law for over 16 years at a Seattle firm before joining ADF in 2013. She is Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ in Martindale-Hubbell. Waggoner is a sought-after public speaker who often appears in national and international media outlets.