State legislators hope this ends the debate in Delaware.
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “to protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.”
“We are putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice: If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump said.
“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports,” the executive order says.
The government rightly decided 52 years ago under Title IX that the law must prohibit discrimination based on sex at any institution that receives federal funding.
“I hope Delaware falls in line and honors this executive order from the president,” state Senator Bryant Richardson (R-Seaford) said.
“I tried twice to have a Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act pass in Delaware, but the Democrat majority did not let the bill out of committee for action on the floor,” Richardson added.
Joining as co-sponsors for the Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act last year were Senators Dave Lawson (R-Marydel), Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View) and Eric Buckson (R-South Dover), and Representatives Tim Dukes (R-Laurel), Rich Collins (R-Millsboro) and Jesse Vanderwende (R-Bridgeville). Dukes was the prime sponsor in the House.
The Fairness Act for Delaware addressed concerns about the lost opportunities for girls to receive recognition, rewards and even scholarships.
“These are girls who strive hard to be the best, some working many hours a day, seven days a week to perfect their skills,” Rep. Dukes said.
The president’s executive order says, “…it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.
“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
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