Senator Jacky Rosen and Sam Brown debate transgender sports policy | Debra J. Saunders | Opinion

WASHINGTON

During Thursday night’s debate between Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and her Republican challenger Sam Brown, a former Army captain and Purple Heart recipient, KLAS moderator John Langeler asked both candidates for their position on the controversy unfolding in Nevada biological questions men who play women’s sports.

Earlier this month, members of the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team voted to forgo a scheduled Oct. 26 game against San Jose State because one of the Spartans is a biological male. UNR leaders say the game will still go ahead, although Nevada players will be allowed to boycott without penalty.

“I can tell you that all student-athletes deserve fair competition and a level playing field,” Rosen said in response to the question.

Great, I thought, Rosen is aware that there is no level playing field when male athletes compete against women.

But then Rosen used neutral language that disguised her apparent support for forcing female players to compete against men when she said, “So I support parents, coaches and the governing leagues.” They are the governing bodies. They are the experts. I believe they are the right people to make these decisions. Not politicians.”

Which told me that Rosen is in favor of letting men play against women’s teams, even if she didn’t explicitly say so.

Brown got it.

“Nevada, let me be clear, what we just heard was a statement from a female politician that she did not have sufficient knowledge on this issue to know whether or not biological men should be allowed to play in women’s sports,” Brown responded. “I will not support the participation of biological men in women’s sports.”

Simple English that doesn’t hide behind a group of “experts”.

And here’s the fun part.

Last year, the American College of Sports Medicine released an “expert consensus statement” that said: “Biological sex is a critical determinant of athletic performance: Adult men are faster, stronger, and faster because of fundamental sex differences in anatomy and anatomy more efficient than women.” Physiology is determined by sex chromosomes.”

So there are Rosen’s arguments about “the experts” and “a level playing field.”

There is something fishy in our politics when university bosses and elected officials gang up on students who see the world for what it is in order to delude them.

The good news: If administrators aren’t careful, the claims system will take care of it. Because some young women are bound to get hurt.

In March, a group of female athletes filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association over its transgender participation policy, which they say violates their rights under Title IX. San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser joined the lawsuit and started the whole story by saying she and other women should not be forced to compete or share locker rooms or hotel rooms with men.

“A lot of people ask us, why did we wait so long to file a lawsuit? Well, we’ve waited this long to give the NCAA every opportunity to make the right decision,” former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler told ABC News. “The NCAA’s most fundamental mission is to protect the fairness and safety of its athletes, and it has failed in that simple task.”

Something else:

You know how liberals like to say they believe in “the science”? They don’t really mean it.

Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at [email protected]. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.