Senators Marco Rubio (FL), Josh Hawley (MO), Tommy Tuberville (AL), and Ted Cruz (TX) are among those joining with colleagues in the House of Representatives for this action. Their letter to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker calls for the organization to stop allowing this crossover of the sexes in women's sports.
"I think it's long overdue, and I'm very happy to see them taking action," comments Jessica Franz of the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee for Senate District 5.
About four months ago, 17 House Republicans sent a similar letter urging the head of college sports' governing body to follow the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) lead on this issue and stop allowing men to compete on women's teams.
The NAIA voted unanimously in April to ban men from women's sports.
Current NCAA policy mirrors that of the International Olympic Committee; it allows men to play in female events if their testosterone levels are under allowable limits over an extended period of time.
Franz says that is unfair to female athletes.
"We've got so many female athletes here who are really losing opportunities," she laments, noting the scientific fact that "females and males are physically very different."
"To put a male with a female in a competitive sport… it's unfair to that female, and it robs them of many opportunities," Franz asserts.
Former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines and more than a half-dozen other groups that advocate for women have also endorsed the senators' letter.
