FILE – In this Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, fwo Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers look out from the Ohio Statehouse roof in Columbus. Republican lawmakers in Ohio on Thursday, June 24, have moved to approve a bill banning transgender girls from participating in female sports teams in high school or college. The proposal, titled the Save Women’s Sports Act, would require schools and higher education institutions in the state to designate “separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio House Republicans seeking to ban transgender girls from female school sports teams and allow college athletes to be paid for their likeness passed both measures in one bill, jeopardizing the bipartisan support the likeness measure had as separate legislation.
“It is a shameful day in this body today,” Democratic state Rep. Michael Skindell said on the House floor. “This is one of the most extreme political attacks on transgender people in the nation.”
The proposal, titled the Save Women’s Sports Act, would require schools and higher education institutions in the state to designate “separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex.”
“Across our country, female athletes are currently losing scholarships, opportunities, medals and training opportunities,” GOP Rep. Jena Powell, a cosponsor of the bill, said on the House floor as Democrats pounded their desks in opposition.
Supporters, like Powell, say the measures are necessary to maintain fairness and protect the integrity in women’s sports in Ohio, though lawmakers have not pointed to a single instance where this has been an issue in the state.
House Republicans added the ban to a bill allowing college athletes to be compensated for use of their name, image or likeness in promotions. The legislation must go back to the Senate for approval of the transgender prohibition.
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