OK governor signs protections for female athletes
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Advocacy Strategy Emilie Kao regarding Gov. Kevin Stitt’s signing Wednesday of SB 2, a bill 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:
“When the law ignores biological reality, female athletes lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete. We have seen increasing examples across the country of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions when competing as females, capturing championships and shattering long-standing female records. Comparably fit and trained males will always have physical advantages over females—that’s the reason we have girls’ sports. Oklahoma now joins a strong coalition of states that recognize that reality and have acted to preserve fair competition for all females, whether in grade school or college. We are grateful to Gov. Stitt and the Oklahoma Legislature for protecting the ability of Oklahoma’s women and girls to compete on a level playing field.”
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 Emilie Kao
Emilie Kao serves as senior counsel and vice president of advocacy strategy for Alliance Defending Freedom. In her role, she works on academic scholarship and coalitions of strategic partners. She previously served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. She also worked as senior legal counsel at an international human rights law firm, East Asia team leader in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Human Rights, and director of international advocacy at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. She was an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and is co-editor of the “First Principles on International Human Rights” essay series. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. Kao earned her A.B. cum laude from Harvard University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the state bars of California and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court.