Supreme Court agrees to hear our women’s sports cases

In a critical moment for women’s rights and equal opportunity, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on one of the most hotly debated issues of the day: Should men be allowed to join women’s sports teams?

That’s a question that we, as female athletes, asked the nation’s high court to address. Thankfully, on Thursday the court said it would.

A lot has been said about this issue. We’ve all seen the photos, watched the videos, heard the stories. In fact, it was common for political candidates in competitive races during the last election to run ads rightfully charging their opponents with taking away opportunities for girls. And President Donald Trump has made clear that he is standing with female athletes, too.

I, Madison, have firsthand experience with this injustice. I ran track and cross-country at Idaho State University and am very familiar with the differences in strength, speed and stamina between comparably gifted and trained male and female athletes. I was forced to compete against a male athlete and was pushed down in the rankings as a result.

COMMON SENSE SAYS WOMEN'S SPORTS ARE FOR WOMEN ONLY

As men competing in women’s sports became more widespread across the country, I, Lainey, wondered if I would be faced with a male competitor when I stepped onto the pitch as team captain of West Virginia State University’s soccer team.

I recently spoke to the United Nations alongside four U.N. member states and Reem Alsalem, the U.N. special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, at an event that ADF International coordinated to highlight Alsalem’s groundbreaking new report on "Violence against women and girls in sports."

Presented to the General Assembly, the report details the enormous costs incurred by female athletes, both to basic fairness and to their safety, when males are allowed to invade their sports and related spaces. Male athletes have taken more than 890 medals from more than 600 female athletes across 29 sports, according to that report.

TITLE IX WAS MEANT TO PROTECT WOMEN, NOT ERASE US

This is so discouraging, not just for us but for the next generation of little girls with big dreams. How do we inspire them? By creating female-only athletic spaces and rewarding genuine merit. We should never give a young girl lessons in unfair losing – teaching her that all those early mornings of hard work are disconnected from the result.

It’s impossible to ignore the consequences for female athletes when males are allowed into their sports and private spaces, like restrooms and locker rooms. Sports is one of the most obvious physical representations of the differences between the sexes.

But it won’t just be about a bigger, stronger, faster male athlete dominating a track or swimming event or threatening a girl’s privacy and safety by being allowed to access girls’ locker rooms or restrooms. It’s also about protecting basic, fundamental rights of women – and men. And recognizing that our laws, policies and culture must reflect biological reality and our inherent differences.

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If we concede that boys can be girls, and vice versa, we’re not just tossing out common sense, science and biological reality, but also truth itself. For too long, lies have been infused into public policy, political agendas and sports’ governing bodies, and, as a result, women are suffering.

As more male athletes begin to dominate women’s sports, authorities are using shame and manipulation to keep women silent. But some brave women have been willing to speak up.

Truth is powerful, and courage is contagious. More and more women aren’t just sitting back. Not long ago, four state universities even forfeited games against San Jose State University because it allowed a male athlete on the women’s team, threatening the female players’ safety and protection.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LAINEY ARMISTEAD

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM MADISON KENYON

Madison Kenyon is a former athlete at Idaho State University who intervened in defense of Idaho’s Fairness for Women in Sports Act being challenged in Little v. Hecox.