Georgia lawmakers could set transgender athlete policy

(The Center Square) — Georgia lawmakers could take control of the power to set policy for transgender athletes competing in women's sports at Georgia high schools, removing the authority from a statewide association.

The revelation, which could potentially extend to publicly funded colleges and universities, came during the first hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Protecting Women's Sports.

"We ended up punting the matter to the Georgia High School Association, which I think is unfortunate, and I think it was the wrong move for us to do," Republican Lt. Governor Burt Jones said during the meeting. "However, we do have an opportunity to correct the ... misgivings from the past, and I think we should take that opportunity."

In 2022, lawmakers passed a bill relegating the responsibility for setting a policy to a committee and the Georgia High School Association, Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, said. In May 2022, the Georgia High School Association passed a measure that required high school athletes to compete based on the sex listed on their birth certificate.

"I know that we're going to be able to do it at the high school level because we're going to take ... that obligation away from the Georgia High School Association because, as elected officials, that should be [one of] our duties," Jones said.

"This should not be a Republican or Democratic issue because it is, at the end of the day, … about protecting female athletes," Jones added. "It's about protecting daughters, granddaughters, people who want to compete on a level playing field with athletes that are similar in scope and shape and their biology."

The hearing included testimony from former college swimmers and centered on the 2022 National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships held at Georgia Tech. The event garnered controversy after a biological male swimmer, Lia Thomas, competed for the University of Pennsylvania as a female and shared locker rooms with female swimmers.

"The silence surrounding this issue among college presidents, athletic departments and sports officials who knew better was honestly one of the most shocking aspects of the situation," Kylee Alons, a former NC State swimmer, said.

"The unfairness of the competitions to women was open and obvious, yet no one had the courage to speak up and defend women's rights," Alons added. "And even worse, when some women tried to speak up, they were quickly criticized and silenced."

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, a frequent commentator, also testified and read a letter she penned to Georgia Tech's president. Alons and Gaines are among the group of collegiate athletes who sued the NCAA and others, including the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents.

Dolezal said the committee invited the University System of Georgia and Georgia Tech officials to participate, but both declined, citing pending litigation. The committee's efforts follow a push from President Joe Biden's administration to expand Title IX and will continue until Dec. 15.