Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Wednesday the Save Women’s Sports Act, joining a dozen other states with laws barring male-born athletes from competing against females amid a heated debate over fairness and inclusion in girls’ and women’s athletics.
“When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear, that’s all this bill says,” the Republican governor said at a signing ceremony.
Mr. Stitt, who was surrounded by girls and teens holding “Save Women’s Sports” signs, said that the “reality is men are biologically different from women,” citing factors such as muscle mass, bone density and lung capacity.
“These are physical advantages men have on the field, in the pool, on the track, on the court, in the weight room,” he said. “So how is it fair for female track athletes or swimmers who have been training since they were 12 years old to lose in a high school competition to a biological male. It’s not. It’s simply not fair. And it will not happen in the state of Oklahoma.”
His decision to sign the bill came as a relief to women’s sports advocates after watching two Republican governors — Indiana’s Eric Holcomb and Utah’s Spencer Cox — veto such measures in the last week.
The Utah state Legislature voted Friday to override Mr. Cox’s veto, while Indiana legislators are expected to do the same at the May 24 veto session.
In 30 minutes I will be joined by state lawmakers and female athletes from across the state as I sign the “Save Women’s Sports Act.”
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) March 30, 2022
Watch the bill signing and press conference live here:    https://t.co/FssmUv4yrW
“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,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Emilie Kao said. “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.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma blasted the signing, saying that “with the swipe of a pen and a public display, Governor Stitt has sent a clear message to Oklahoma’s vulnerable transgender youth that they are not welcome or accepted in our State.”
“Ultimately, SB2 violates the United States Constitution and federal civil rights law, puts Oklahoma at risk of losing federal funding, and harms transgender youth, all to solve a problem that does not exist,” said ACLU of Oklahoma executive director Tamya Cox-Touré.
The bill, which applies to both K-12 and collegiate sports, requires parents of minor athletes or adult student-athletes to sign affidavits “acknowledging the biological sex of the student at birth.”
The bill also provides a cause of action for any athlete who is “deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers any direct or indirect harm.”
Republican state Sen. Julie Daniels, one of the bill’s cosponsors, said she decided to get involved after hearing from a neighbor that the “fastest female swimmer was now male.”
She was apparently referring to NCAA Division I swimming champion Lia Thomas, who swam for three years on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team before transitioning to female and joining the women’s team for the 2021-22 season.
“I’d been interested in the issue, but I hadn’t yet decided to take action,” Ms. Daniels said at the press conference. “But at that point, I signed onto Sen. [Micheal] Bergstrom’s bill and decided that I must stand up for something I know to be true, that sex is a fact.”
Thirteen states have passed similar bills, and more could follow. A similar bill is now sitting on the desk of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican.
Two of the state laws have been blocked temporarily by federal courts pending the outcome of lawsuits.
Alicia Andrews, chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, accused the governor of using LGBTQ residents as “political pawns for political points.”
“Stitt hungers for only one thing — the spotlight. He believes that signing this bill into law makes him out to be a hero to his misinformed and misguided base,” she said in a statement on KOCO-TV.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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