Proposed transgender bill embraces ‘nearly 50 years of advances for women’

In other states, female athletes have been dethroned from winning podiums by biologically male athletes who identify as female. The one gaining the largest notoriety was Lia Thomas, a swimmer at Penn who competed on the men’s team for three years then the women’s team in 2021-22. Riley Gaines, a 2022 NCAA championships swimmer for Kentucky who swam against Thomas and was in the same locker room, has been at the forefront of opposition to transgender athletes who are biologically male competing against biological females.

It is a reality that has prompted lawmakers in 18 states to enact legislation to restore integrity to girls’ sports, including in North Carolina.

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday filed House Bill 574, the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” Student-athletes can secure waivers from the state’s public high school athletic association to compete based on their “gender identity.” Senate Bill 631 is the companion piece in the upper chamber.

“This legislation will hold up Title IX rights afforded to girls, to protect their rights to compete on a level playing field. Allowing boys to play on girls’ teams reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Erin Pare, R-Wake. “A recent statewide poll shows 70% of North Carolinians agree, biological males should not be allowed on female teams – this is a unifying issue.”

The bill would require students to participate in school sports that correspond to their biological gender. The rule would apply to public schools, those governed by the state’s athletic association, and schools that play those teams.

North Carolina High School Athletics Association’s default policy requires students to participate in school sports based on the gender listed on their birth certificate, but transgender students can apply for an exemption.

The process involves securing attestations from medical providers and a recommendation from school officials, with applications vetted by a gender identity committee comprised of medical professionals, school personnel, and a representative from the NCHAA board of directors, NCHSAA Executive Director Que Tucker told The Center Square.

“Since we put the policy in place in 2019, we’ve had 18 requests to waive the gender on the birth certificate,” Tucker said. “Of those 18, one has been denied.”

The NCHSAA does not track whether the students actually participated, but Tucker contends “by and large, this has been a nonissue in North Carolina.”

Four in the first class of students who applied for waivers are now seniors.

While the association board has not yet taken a position on HB574, Tucker said she’s personally “disappointed that this has reached the level of a bill being filed.” The former high school basketball coach is also disappointed “no one from the legislative level reached out to us to ask any questions.”

“I am never in favor of a bill of any kind that would exclude individuals from participating in education-based athletics in North Carolina,” she said. “In my opinion, that’s what this bill would do.”

Equality NC Executive Director Kendra Johnson was “outraged” by the bill the organization argues “bans trans and intersex girls from sports.” Equality NC predicts HB574 will “increase existing mental health risks for trans youth.”

“Banning kids from playing sports because of who they are prevents them from having positive and formative experiences at school,” Johnson said.

For Pare and the 42 House co-sponsors of HB574, the bill is about something else: maintaining the integrity of women’s sports to ensure those who participate are safe.

“As a mother of two teenage athletes, one being a girl, I see my daughter’s sacrifices and commitment to her sport,” Pare said, “and I want to protect her and other girls in this state to assure females are safe, and not benched in their own sports.”

HB574 was referred to the House Committee on Judiciary 1.