HomeCollege BasketballGENDER: U.S. House passes bill stopping transgenders in school sports; Senate outlook is cloudy at best

GENDER: U.S. House passes bill stopping transgenders in school sports; Senate outlook is cloudy at best

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≡ H.R. 28 PASSES HOUSE≡

By a mostly party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed by 218-206 to approve the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025” on Tuesday.

The bill is quite explicit:

“Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“‘(d) (1) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a recipient of Federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates an athletic program or activity to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.

“‘(2) For the purposes of this subsection, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The bill does allow for men to practice with women’s teams, a popular practice in multiple sports, notably at the collegiate level:

“Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a recipient from permitting males to train or practice with an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls so long as no female is deprived of a roster spot on a team or sport, opportunity to participate in a practice or competition, scholarship, admission to an educational institution, or any other benefit that accompanies participating in the athletic program or activity.”

This is the third time this bill has been introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Florida); it was passed by 219-203 in the last Session, but never saw action in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Two Democratic representatives voted for H.R. 28 this time, and one voted “present.”

The Senate is now controlled, 53-47, by Republicans, so the vote will get attention, but has a significant hurdle to clear, as 60 votes are required to close debate and advance legislation to a vote. So at least seven Democrats would be required to let the bill go forward.

The politics of this are difficult, as Democrats are generally against this action, but the issue of transgenders in women’s sport was a significant campaign issue for Republicans and Senators in swing states for the 2026 mid-terms might be looking at the consequences of their votes. Of the 33 seats up in 2026, only two – Georgia and Michigan – have Democrat Senators in states won by President-elect Donald Trump.

So, the bar may be high for H.R. 28 to advance, but there will be pressure. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate.

Steube said after the vote, “It’s absolutely absurd that we actually have to pass a bill that says only women can be in women’s sports.” He added in a statement:

“The House has delivered on its promise to protect women’s sports.

“Americans are united in our belief that men have no place in women’s sports, whether it’s breaking records, entering locker rooms, or stealing scholarship opportunities. Denying biological truth erases fairness in sports and puts women’s safety and opportunities at risk. Today’s passage sends a clear message to the Senate – protecting women and girls in sports is not negotiable.”

Title IX rules introduced by the Biden Administration that allowed access for transgenders in women’s locker rooms were struck down by a U.S. District Court order last Thursday (9th). Another set of Education Department regulations proposed in 2023 that would have created a new Title IX rule to force the inclusion of transgender men on women’s athletics teams was abandoned last December.

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