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US House passes bill protecting equal athletic opportunities for women

Tuesday, Jan 14, 2025

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage Tuesday of H.R. 28, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which protects women’s sports by affirming that allowing males to compete on women’s teams violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded schools and colleges:

“Girls shouldn’t be spectators in their own sports. Allowing males who identify as female to compete in girls’ sports ignores the biological differences between the sexes—destroying fair competition and erasing women’s athletic prospects. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act reaffirms the vital protections for women’s sports guaranteed by Title IX, ensuring that women and girls truly have equal athletic opportunities. As we continue to witness increasing incidents nationwide of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions, it is imperative to affirm that biology, not identity, is what matters in athletics. We commend Rep. Greg Steube and his colleagues for their unwavering support of this critical legislation, and we thank Speaker Mike Johnson and the U.S. House of Representatives for making its passage a top priority in the new year. It is encouraging to see Congress take an early, strong stand for women and girls. The Senate should now promptly consider and pass this critically important legislation.”

ADF attorneys have worked with lawmakers in many of the 25 states with laws protecting women’s sports and are currently litigating multiple women’s sports cases across the country including two lawsuits before the U.S. Supreme Court. Additionally, a federal district court recently issued a decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona—one of ADF’s Title IX lawsuits—that blocks the Biden administration’s unlawful attempt to change the meaning of “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.”

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

Kristen Waggoner is the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom: the world’s largest legal organization advancing every person’s God-given right to live and speak the truth. With more than 450 team members in 10 offices worldwide, ADF is at the forefront of today’s most consequential battles in law, public policy, and culture. Under Waggoner’s leadership—first as head of U.S. litigation and now as CEO—ADF has played a role in 80 U.S. Supreme Court victories and won 15 of its own cases before the court, including serving as legal counsel with Mississippi in the landmark Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Waggoner personally argued several of ADF’s Supreme Court cases including the well-known Masterpiece Cakeshop and 303 Creative cases, winning major victories for free expression. She has the honor of leading ADF International, which, like its U.S. counterpart, defends religious liberty, free speech, parental rights, human life, and biological reality around the world. After law school, Waggoner clerked at the Washington Supreme Court and spent over 15 years at a Seattle law firm before joining ADF.