Yesterday, January 14, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 218 to 206 to pass the protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The bill clarifies that a person's genetics at birth (not their identity) will determine compliance with Title 9 in athletics.
This is a great win for many in Greenwich including Olympic swimmer Donna DeVarona who had much to do with the creation of Title 9 in 1972 putting women's sports on an equal footing with men. Also, this is a win for the UPenn swimmer from Greenwich who was on the team when transgender Lia Thomas won swimming medals and shared the women't locker room. This UPenn swimmer has worked with University of Kentucky champion swimmer Riley Gaines to fight this inequity. These women are winners in the pool and in life.
It's disappointing that all five of our Congress people from Connecticut, voted against this bill:
Joe Courtney, Democrat
Rosa DeLauro, Democrat
Johana Hayes, Democrat
Jim Himes (who represents Greenwich), Democrat
John Larson, Democrat
Between the lines: Let's bring common sense back to Connecticut