It has been more than four years since Riley Gaines, then a swimmer at the University of Kentucky, publicly spoke out against University of Pennsylvania swimmer Will “Lia” Thomas competing in women’s sports.
Thomas, who claims to be female, would go on to be declared an NCAA Division I Champion. He won three individual Ivy League titles, along with a relay title and set numerous school records.
It should be noted that based on Thomas’ times, the Penn swimmer wouldn’t have won anything had he been swimming against men.
Last summer, in response to the Trump administration’s directives to protect women athletes, the University of Pennsylvania revised the school’s swimming records by removing Thomas’ name from the top slots and recognizing the legitimate female winners. Letters of regret were sent to those who had been bumped from the lists.
“While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules,” Penn President J. Larry Jameson stated. “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
We’ve come a long way since the height of the “trans” delusion, when few people had the guts to speak out against the unfairness and insanity of it all.
Testifying before Congress in 2023, Gaines declared:
Let me be perfectly clear: a school that knowingly allows a male athlete to take a spot on a women’s team, or allows a male athlete to take the field in a woman’s game, is denying a female student an athletic opportunity. That is sex discrimination, and it violates Title IX—regardless of what new regulations might say.
The testimony of the 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer and 5-time SEC champion helped turn the tide. Her courage stiffened the spines of other athletes, many of whom also began to speak out.
The NCAA no longer allows men to compete against women, but much like the abortion battle, the issue is now at a state level. While 27 states ban men from competing against women, 23 states do not. This past June, in a unanimous ruling, the United States Supreme Court held that Title IX does not require states to include “transgender” athletes in girls and women’s sports. In a 6-3 decision, the High Court ruled that bans on “trans” athletes do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
As the state “trans” debates now drag on, this next season of the controversy demands that Christians, in particular, must possess a clear-headed understanding and unwavering convictions concerning the issue and what’s at stake.
Scripture makes absolutely clear that God created humanity with a binary distinction between male and female. That’s it. That’s all. And because God is perfect, He doesn’t make mistakes. You can tragically and devastatingly mutilate a body, take hormones and chemicals, but you cannot change your biological sex. A man cannot become a woman, and a woman cannot become a man.
Christians with these commonsense convictions have faced great pressure and harassment. They’ve been called bullies, bigots, intolerant, and “transphobic.” Ironically, some have even been called sexist, a claim that belies reality. That’s because any male who pretends to be a woman and competes against women is actually thechauvinist – and the ultimate one, at that.
Merriam-Webster defines “chauvinism” as “an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex.” And that’s precisely what these men are doing. By carrying their biological male physical advantages into women’s sports, they’re looking to dominate instead of fairly competing against them. They’re looking to erase biological sex altogether and redefine or recast it in terms of one’s personal choice or “identity.”
The ongoing campaign to protect women’s sports is going well, but its ultimate success at the state level will demand ongoing boldness – and bluntness. Please join us in praying for the protection of the vulnerable and for the courage and strength of those in the battle.