Governor Greg Abbott vows to ban trans athletes from competing against women in Texas college sports
DALLAS, TEXAS: Texas to pass a bill prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in college sports, claimed Governor Greg Abbott. A similar bill was passed in 2021, imposing a ban on transgender competitors in public schools from kindergarten through high school, under his governorship. Now Texas lawmakers have shifted their focus to universities.
“This next session, we will pass a law prohibiting biological men to compete against women in college sports,” Governor Greg Abbott said during a meeting of young conservatives in Dallas. However, Abbott's proposal has sparked outrage among LGBTQ groups who claim that these laws are not ‘protecting girls’ but them, according to New York Post. Moreover, Abbott referred to Harvard transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in his remarks.
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The Lia Thomas effect
Austin native Lia Thomas, 22, a University of Pennsylvania swimmer, sparked a national debate on whether athletes who are born male should be allowed to compete against biological females. At the time, the 6'1 swimmer did not have the support of her fellow teammates, out of which 16 of them argued she had an “unfair biological advantage.” Thomas was a record-breaking performer and won many winning titles.
The 22-year-old was able to compete due to hormone treatment to lower her testosterone level, which is a requirement by the NCAA. Last year, it updated its policy to support transgender athletes. However, alongside Texas, 17 other states have passed new bills, prohibiting transgender people to participate in sports, many of which have been challenged in court. “We’ve fought for the rights of women to be able to succeed in this world only to have that now superseded by this ideology that men are going to be empowered to compete against women,” Abbott said during his comments.
(Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
'Transgender girls are girls!'
In Texas, LGBTQ groups were quick to voice their retaliation against Abbott’s bill. “This type of legislation would abandon trans athletes and leave them without a way to express themselves in sports,” Equality Texas tweeted. Trans youth Elliot claimed, “These laws are not ‘protecting girls’ they are hurting girls because transgender girls are girls." "Science supports that transgender people are valid and you should to. Let us play sports,” Elliot told the It Gets Bettter project.
