Former Lia Thomas opponents share 'abuse,' push Georgia lawmakers to pass trans athlete in women's sports ban
A Georgia state Senate committee passed the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act Thursday after testimony from multiple female athletes who have competed against and shared locker rooms with transgender athletes.
The bill would require athletes to participate on teams that align with their biological sex at birth. If it is signed into law, Georgia would become the 26th state in the U.S. to have a law in place to prevent or restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
Georgia has been a prime frontier for this issue after the state hosted the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships, which included transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Two of Thomas' former opponents testified at Thursday's state congressional hearing.
Former North Carolina State women's swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke about the experience competing against and sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence," Alons said.
Alons recounted the emotions she felt sharing competitive areas with Thomas, and how much sadness she felt watching women lose out on chances to compete fairly at the event. Alons even said she wanted to cry and leave the event after seeing Thomas win the 500-meter freestyle.
"It all just felt so off and wrong," she said.
Things got much more difficult for Lyons after she experienced sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go. I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women's locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room," Lyons said
"I am immediately on edge every time I enter that locker room afterward, knowing at any moment a man can walk in on me changing.
Lyons added she felt so uncomfortable she resorted to abandoning the locker room altogether and instead changed in a storage closet behind the bleachers.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons in recounting the experience of sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress next to a fully intact biological male who exposed himself to us, while we were simultaneously fully exposed," Wheeler said. "We were never asked. We were never given a choice or another option. We were just expected to be OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, because standing up for ourselves would mean being labeled as intolerant or hateful or bigoted."
Wheeler and Lyons are plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA led by fellow former swimmer and 2022 NCAA championship competitor Riley Gaines over the NCAA's policies on gender ideology.
Wheeler and Lyons shared their experiences with a message urging state senators at the hearing to pass the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act.
The bill drew opposition from parents, physicians and others. Dr. Jodi Greenwald, a Roswell pediatrician, told the panel that transgender girls are not predators and warned that transgender youth are more at risk of suicide.
The bill passed by a vote of 8-3 after a nearly two-hour hearing.
Lt. Gov. Bill Jones called the vote an important step toward one of his critical goals of the session.
"Biological men do not belong in women's sports, period," Jones said.
"This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia. The Senate has always led the way on protecting women's sports, and with Senate Bill 1, we will continue to be on the right side of this commonsense issue.
"I will never waver in the fight to protect our sisters and our daughters participating on equal footing in Georgia sports. I look forward to Senate Bill 1 becoming law and the protection of women's sports becoming a reality for all female athletes in Georgia."
A federal ban on transgender inclusion in girls and women's sports is also moving through Congress.
The House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.
Every Republican U.S. representative voted in favor of the bill. Only two Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House House Democrats opposed it. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."
A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports.
Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
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