ICYMI: Grassley Leads Senate Judiciary Republicans in Standing with Female Athletes Against Biological Men in Women’s Sports
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) co-hosted a press conference alongside Senate Judiciary Republicans and female athletes and advocates following today’s committee hearing on empowering and protecting women in sports.
Sixty-six percent of U.S. adults favor a law or policy that would require trans athletes to compete on teams that match their sex at birth. Despite this overwhelming support from the American public, every Democrat member of the Judiciary Committee refused to fully participate in today’s hearing. Democrats called no witnesses and asked no questions.
“Democrats love to claim they are the party that supports women. But today they didn’t bother to bring a single witness to listen and engage with the concerns that athletes and scientists are raising about men playing in women’s sports. These women deserve to have their stories heard,” Grassley said, in part. “Female athletes need our support.”
“Women and girls deserve fair competition in their sports, and privacy in their locker rooms. It was a historic moment, to see this issue come to such a huge platform, but it was also incredibly distressing to see that the Democrat senators were so dismissive of young women who are suffering across the country today,” said Marshi Smith, cofounder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS). “There are huge threats to women’s sports. Adults need to stand up in leadership positions and do something about it.”
Grassley was joined at the press conference by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and Darline Graham (R-S.C.), as well as the following athletes and advocates:
- Marshi Smith and Kim Jones, cofounders of ICONS
- Carly Smolak, a retired professional women’s soccer player and U.S. Australian Football League national champion
- Briley Lechner, a high school volleyball player
- Jeff Moravec, a father of an impacted female athlete
- Matt Sharp, Vice President of Public Policy at Alliance Defending Freedom
- Lainey Armistead, a former NCAA soccer player and intervenor in the landmark Supreme Court victory for female athletes, Little v. Hecox
- Kendall Kotzmacher, an NCAA softball player
- Angie Griffin, a U.S. Masters swimmer
Video and a transcript of Grassley’s remarks follow.
I welcome you all to this press conference.
As you’ve just heard at our hearing, the dangers biological men pose to women’s sports are very real – very real dangers.
Female athletes need our support.
Without action, we’re putting an entire generation of young women at risk.
Ultimately, this is an issue that comes down to safety and comes down to real commonsense.
You’re in a part of our country, D.C., where it’s surrounded by reality – if you wonder what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.
Democrats love to claim they are the party that supports women.
But today they didn’t even bother to bring a single witness to listen and engage with these concerned athletes that testified and were otherwise in attendance.
These witnesses and the people in attendance all raised the issue of men, and the dangers of men playing in women’s sports, but mostly about the unfairness of it.
These women deserve to have their stories heard. That’s why we’re here today.
I commend the brave athletes and advocates who often risk precious contracts and face public blowback for just simply speaking out and exercising their right under the first amendment of freedom of speech.
So, please know that you have this senator’s support.
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