I applaud my friend Riley Gaines who is courageously standing up for women in sports and fighting to preserve Title IX. It shouldn’t be considered an act of courage to take that stance. But unfortunately, courage is necessary when mobs assault and verbally abuse Riley and anyone else who speaks the truth and tries to prevent women from being erased.
The whole point of Title IX was to level the playing field for women. The NCAA tilted the playing field back towards men when they allowed Lia Thomas to compete against female swimmers. Undeniable physical advantages as a biological male helped Thomas win the national title in the 500-yard freestyle. To rub salt in the wound, the NCAA would not allow Riley, who tied for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle with Thomas, to pose with the fifth-place trophy. The University of Pennsylvania piled on with another insult. They nominated Lia Thomas for NCAA Woman of the Year!
Now, the Biden Administration is turning Title IX on its head by forcing female athletes to compete against biological males. These changes threaten to reverse all the gains women worked so hard to achieve. This is a real war on women. But many women’s groups and athletes are refusing to fight back.
It’s a fact that biological males have more muscle mass and are stronger and faster than biological females. The difference is substantial and so is the advantage when it comes to sports.
We separate young student athletes by age because we know that a 16-year-old has height, strength, and speed advantages over an 8-year-old. It’s a matter of safety as well as fairness. If age is a legitimate consideration, then why not sex? What if there is a risk of injury to a female athlete competing against a biological male in a contact sport?
Since Title IX became law, female athletes have benefited from equal access to education opportunities, scholarships, training facilities, coaching, tournaments, and much more. But the benefits go beyond the track, pool, court, or field. We know that the experience gained by training hard, teamwork, and striving for excellence translates into success in the workplace. Female athletes make great leaders in the business world. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that women have the same opportunities in sports that men have always had.
I know there is much more to sports than winning. But at the highest levels, winning is the ultimate objective of athletic competition. Winning brings recognition, and that can lead to scholarships and eventually, endorsements and other business opportunities. Participation trophies don’t cut it. By pushing women off the podium and out of the record books, the NCAA and the Biden Administration are hurting women financially. Where’s the equity in that? They are also causing psychological harm to female athletes by requiring them to accept a situation where no matter how hard they train or how much they sacrifice, they can’t win. They are basically telling women to put up with it and stop complaining. It’s surprising to me that Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are ok with this.
We should never stop fighting for equal opportunity for women. I support Riley Gaines, Martina Navratilova, and other athletes who are speaking up for true fairness in women’s sports, not fake equity. If we aren’t careful, the progress made under Title IX could be wiped out. And the country will be worse off because of it.
Herschel Walker is a former Georgia Senate candidate and NFL player.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.