If Governor Greg Abbott has his way, transgender athletes will be banned from competing in college sports in Texas.
Abbott announced his intent to ban males identifying as women from collegiate women’s sports at a meeting of the Young America’s Foundation in Dallas.
“This next session, we will pass a law prohibiting biological men to compete against women in college sports,” the governor declared.
Abbott has already made strides toward this end by banning trans athletes from girls’ sports in Texas public schools.
When making the case for extending the trans ban to the collegiate athletic ranks, Abbott specifically referenced the case of former University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Transgender woman Lia Thomas (L) of the University of Pennsylvania stands on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle as other medalists (L-R) Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan, and Brooke Forde pose for a photo at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship on March 17, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Thomas, a man, began his collegiate career on the men’s swim team at UPenn where he achieved nothing more than mere mediocrity. However, after he began identifying as a female and competing on the women’s team, he shot up to the top of the national ranks defeating Olympic and Olympic-caliber swimmers on the way.
“We’ve fought for the rights of women to be able to succeed in this world only to have that now superseded by this ideology that men are going to be empowered to compete against women,” Abbott asserted.
If successful, Texas will not be the only state to have a transgender ban impacting K-12 and the college ranks. In 2021, Florida instituted a similar ban that was met by not only an outcry from the gender ideology community but also lawsuits.
Trans Rights activists react while taking part in the “Furies against Fascism” counter protest to the “Let Women Speak” rally in Glasgow, on February 5, 2023. (ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbott can expect a similar response in Texas. The governor’s announcement was met with an immediate response from Equality Texas, who claimed that the legislation would “abandon” trans athletes.
“This type of legislation would abandon trans athletes and leave them without a way to express themselves in sports,” the group wrote.
Florida’s transgender ban has survived its legal challenges. Should Texas’ ban also be successful, other states will likely follow.
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