Republicans renew push to ban transgender girls, women from competing in sports

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- There's a renewed push by Republican lawmakers to ban transgender girls and women from playing on a sports team.

Rep. Barb Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and Sen. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) introduced the bills that largely mirror legislation introduced in 2021. One proposal would bar transgender athletes from joining a women's sports team at every grade level and another bill would use the same policy at college campuses.

During the previous legislative session, the bill passed the Assembly but failed to receive a vote in the Senate.

The measures are almost certain to be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers, but Dittrich said it's important to shed light on female athletes who say they’re at a disadvantage by having to compete against those born male, but now identify as female.

"[The bill] is not meant with malice but it's a concern about an unfair advantage just like we don't want performance enhancing drugs for our professional athletes," Dittrich said.

Under the proposals, schools and campuses would also be required to have three categories of sports teams, including male, female or co-ed.

In June, 71% of Wisconsin voters said they are in favor of requiring transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while 28% are opposed, according to a Marquette University Law School Poll.

That's an uptick from MU polling last year when 62% opposed transgender athletes playing on a sports team that match their current gender, compared to 22% that believe they should be allowed to play regardless of how they identify themselves.

Democrats, LGBTQ advocacy groups and the state Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus were quick to criticize the measures calling them harmful and an attack against the transgender community.

"Just the rhetoric around this is harmful to kids and I wish my Republican colleagues would just stop it," said Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit). "They know this isn't going to become law and it further hurts kids."

Dittrich responded by saying female athletes are being affected by not competing on a "level playing field."

"This is not an attack," she said. "It's a way to make space for all of us."

There are policies already in place within Wisconsin schools and the NCCA that require transgender girls and women to undergo hormone testing before competing.

For nearly a decade, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association has had procedures for male-to-female students that include "having one calendar year of medically documented testosterone suppression therapy to be eligible."

Since the policy has been in place, WIAA officials say they have dealt with only a handful of complaints.

The NCAA decided last year to set its rules sport by sport and to follow guidelines set by major national and world governing groups overseeing each sport. The move put the NCCA in line with standards for acceptable testosterone levels in sports.

When asked how the bill would impact collegiate rules, Dittrich said she believes her bill would make those policies stronger. If enacted, it's unclear whether it would interfere with NCAA policies. Last session, UW-Madison officials said their teams would not be in compliance with NCAA rules.

More than 20 states have adopted similar measures to bar transgender athletes whose biological sex at birth was male from competing on girls or women's sports teams.

Earlier this year House Republicans in Congress passed a proposal as well, but it stalled in the Senate.