When It Comes to Women's Sports, Democrats are 'Stuck on Stupid'
Just over 50 years since the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Democrats nationally are rescinding the rights afforded to women under this landmark piece of legislation.
Whether motivated by a cult-like adherence to the LGBTQ+ community or a compulsory reflex to oppose every policy from President Trump, they are committed to rejecting historical precedent, common sense, and the equal rights afforded to women under U.S. law – all so biological men can compete in women’s sports.
Months ago, Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, led the charge by openly challenging U.S. President Donald Trump in a meeting at the White House, expressing her intent to ignore the President’s executive order barring men from competing in women’s sports.
The Golden State, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has now followed suit.
Just days ago, the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) reaffirmed their intention to also ignore President Trump’s executive order, citing California’s own state law.
Democrats who wish to undermine Title IX protections, thereby exposing young women to injury, denying them scholarship opportunities, and robbing them of accomplishments, must be given no quarter.
President Trump, along with the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, are rightly doing everything in their power to hold these leaders accountable for their malfeasance.
Doing so is not only common sense but moreover is well within their legal rights and reflects the historical intention of Title IX.
In the years prior to the passage of Title IX, women's college athletics programs received less than 2 percent of total athletic budgets at most U.S. institutions.
Likewise, a fraction of the women who compete in sports at their high school or college today had the opportunity to do so back then.
Congress, committed to addressing these disparities as a matter of law, held several hearings that detailed the stark disparities women faced in education and the limited opportunities they were afforded compared to their male counterparts.
According to the NCAA, there were 151,918 men and 15,182 women in college sports in 1966-1967, a few years before Title IX was passed and signed into law by President Nixon.
Title IX was as simple as it was necessary, stating, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. . . “
The landmark legislation has since been a cornerstone in legal arguments and efforts to defend women’s rights in education and their access to programs and athletics.
California’s leaders today exhibit cognitive dissonance posing as champions of women’s rights while demeaning female athletes by forcing them to compete with men.
Their actions deny women the equal opportunity to compete in collegiate athletics guaranteed by Title IX.
Gov. Newsom for his part, who previously stated in a podcast that he saw the issue as deeply unfair for women, has failed to act to protect collegiate women.
He, like many others, insist that preventing men from competing with women, sharing their locker rooms, and denying them the opportunity to see them shower is somehow denying transgender individuals their rights.
But here’s the reality.
The word transgender never appears in Title IX. The phrase "gender identity" also never appears.
By all accounts, including common sense, adopting the moniker of "trans," and claiming to be the opposite sex, does not entitle you to the rights or the benefits of the opposite sex, nor does it allow you to bypass the clear and precise language of Title IX that was explicitly created to give women equal opportunity in athletics.
In fact, the entire point of Title IX is to exclude men from taking competitive athletic spots from women, whether the men are transgender or not.
In response to California’s refusal to uphold Title IX protections and follow President Trump’s executive order, the DOJ has filed the lawsuit against California for denying women and girls across the state athletic opportunities.
They should also work with the Department of Education to add whatever financial pressure that they can by restricting California’s ability to continue receiving federal support to right this wrong.
Such actions are not only legal under Title IX’s own enforcement mechanisms, but also bolstered by the wider application of the law’s enforcement under the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.
It’s imperative the White House confront defiance like California’s actions head on.
So long as officials in Sacramento continue to sacrifice the rights of women in the name of protecting their new favorite class – LGTBQ+ individuals – the Trump administration should pursue all means to force compliance.
The New York Times has reported that girls' participation in sports leads to increases in women’s education and employment rates and decreases in women’s obesity rates.
The original intent of Title IX has been all but ignored by elites in California and New York. In the words of Gen. Russel Honore, too many Democrats are "stuck on stupid."
Only through enforcement action by the Trump White House can we preserve the legacy of Title IX and ensure that future generations of women will not be denied the equal opportunities that rational Americans – both Democrats and Republicans – fought so hard to promote over the course of several decades.
Horace Cooper is a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, chairman of the Project 21 National Advisory Board and a legal commentator. He is a frequent Fox News contributor and the author of How Trump is Making Black America Great Again: The Untold Story of Black Advancement in the Era of Trump. Read Horace Cooper's Reports --- More Here.
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