Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R-Tenn.) told reporters on Wednesday that if “transgender” athletes are not banned from middle school and high school sports teams, then they will “destroy women’s sports,” as reported by Fox News.
“I do believe that transgenders participating in women’s sports will destroy women’s sports. It will ruin the opportunity for girls to earn scholarships,” and that “it will put a glass ceiling back over women that hasn’t been there in some time,” the governor said on Wednesday.
“I think it’s bad for women and women’s sports,” he added.
The governor made the comments as Tennessee lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would force all prospective student athletes to prove that their claimed gender is the same as the gender they were born with, as listed on their original birth certificate. His criticism of “transgenders” came even as he refused to commit to signing the legislation.
Tennessee is one of roughly a dozen states that is pushing back on Joe Biden’s federal mandate ordering that schools accept so-called “transgender” athletes onto their sports teams, even if they are not of the same gender as the rest of the team’s participants. Critics have pointed out the biological fact that individuals who were born male but claim to be female have clearly unfair advantages due to being physically stronger, faster, and more agile.
Lee also voiced his opposition to Biden’s executive order that ordered wider inclusion for “transgenders” based on Title IX of federal education law, saying “that particular executive order is a tremendous overreach of the federal government into the states.”