(The Center Square) – Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina are among the 30 cosponsors of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 introduced Tuesday.
Recipients of federal funds who operate, sponsor or facilitate athletic programs or activities are not allowed to permit a male, as determined by reproductive biology and genetics at birth, to participate in programs and activities designated for women or girls.
Tillis said the legislation would ensure Title IX provisions on how gender is treated. Endorsements have been offered by the Independent Women’s Voice; Concerned Women for America; and Heritage Action for America.
The push to allow men who say they are women to not only compete in women’s spaces but occupy other places such as prisons and restrooms has had the backing as high up as President Joe Biden. Those supporters base their position on inclusion.
“Americans want fairness and safety for female athletes, and we must protect women’s sports from being undermined,” Tillis said in a release. “To ensure a fair future for our daughters and granddaughters, we cannot allow men to compete in women’s sports or take away the opportunities that Title IX gave them. This bill will ensure that women’s sports remain for women, preserving both fairness and the integrity of female athletics for generations to come.”
Payton McNabb, the volleyball player from Hiawassee Dam High School in the mountains injured in 2022 by a boy saying he was a girl so he could play, has been instrumental leading the national fight to protect women’s spaces alongside notable figures such as Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan.
Tuberville, the Republican from Alabama, introduced Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on Tuesday.
Legislation with the same title was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., on Friday. The 58 cosponsors include North Carolina Republican Reps. Virginia Foxx and Richard Hudson. The state has three other women in the House, Democrats Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams, and none have signed on with Steube.
“Just one man competing in women’s sports is one too many,” McNabb, an ambassador for Independent Women’s Voice, said in a release from the nonprofit. “The reintroduction of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is a critical step in protecting the basic rights of female athletes. When a man competes in women’s sports, it impacts countless women – taking away opportunities, safety, and fairness. This is a common-sense bill, and those voting on it should find it an easy decision to stand up for the integrity of women.”
