Earlier this year, United States women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe was among many athletes to sign a letter voicing their opposition to H.R. 734, a federal bill that would ban transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s school sports.
Last June, Rapinoe announced that she’s “100 percent supportive of trans inclusion.”
During an appearance on The Daily Wire’s “Crain & Company,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and former college head coach proceeded to call out Rapinoe by stating she would be working at a grocery store if trans women played alongside real women.
“The problem is she’s now voicing her opinion that, ‘Hey, trans boys should be able to compete against women.’ Well, if that had happened during her career, she’d have been working at Safeway or Piggly Wiggly. She’d never gotten on the field, but now that she’s retired, ‘Yeah, I’m all for this.’ And that’s the biggest bunch of crap I’ve ever heard,” Tuberville said.
He also said, “You know, they supposedly stand up for all this activist stuff, but they don’t stand up for what’s right or what’s right in this country.”
Tuberville incorrectly stated that Rapinoe is retired, but in reality, she still competes for the OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League.
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Proponents of banning transgender women and girls from competing in girls’ and women’s sports have pointed to their possible competitive advantages. In March, World Athletics announced transgender women would need to meet certain testosterone thresholds in order to compete.
Across the United States, state governments have pursued legislation against transgender athletes as part of wider movements against the trans community.
Under the guidance of President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Education proposed a rule under Title IX that would make blanket transgender bans illegal but leave certain exceptions in place to allow high schools and colleges to exclude trans athletes from competition on teams that reflect their gender identity.
This is a conversation that will continue for years to come.
