Sen. Graham: Females Competing With Biological Men Unfair

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke out on Wednesday against biological men competing against biological women in sports, citing the case of Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in 2022.

“You will never convince me that a biological male [Lia Thomas], who swam three years on the men’s team and transitioned for the senior year, that was fair,” Graham, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a hearing on LGBTQ civil rights. “This is going on all over the country. Young girls are working hard in their particular sports, and on occasion they are having to compete against a biological male who has decided to transition.

“The evidence, I think, is pretty common-sense based, that there’s an advantage.”

Several states have recently passed legislation prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in sports that do not align with their biological sex. According to the Movement Advancement Project — which describes itself as an independent, nonprofit think tank that provides research, insight, and communications which help speed equality and opportunity for all — 22 states have instituted bans on transgender athletes participating in sports that are consistent with their gender identity.

The hearing featured former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who tied with Thomas for fifth place in the NCAA 200-yard freestyle final in March 2022. Gaines said the NCAA had only one trophy and gave it to Thomas, who earlier dominated in winning the women’s 500-yard title.

“The number of female athletes who have been denied opportunities, traumatized, or hurt by policies that claim to promote ‘inclusion’ is growing at an alarming rate,” Gaines said. “I have heard from female athletes who have been seriously injured — one with permanent injuries that will plague her for the rest of her life — because she was forced to compete against a much physically stronger man.”

“This is simply unacceptable,” she continued, “and the integrity of women’s sports is lost. It is unfair, and it is discriminatory. And it must stop.”

Gaines was asked by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, if there are differences between men and women biologically.

“Of course. We learn this at a very young age, watching 12-and-unders play,” said Gaines, an adviser to Independent Women’s Voice, a nonprofit advocacy group for women of all ages. “Going through puberty causes irreversible advantage that no matter the training, no matter the diet, no matter any alterable change you can make will overcome that male advantage, especially in sports like swimming, where lung capacity matters very much.

“Even as something as silly as throat size, men have on average a 40% larger throat, which sounds like it’s nothing, but when you’re grasping for air, that 40% larger throat makes a huge difference in athletic success.”