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Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Pushes For Transgender Athletes In Girls Sports

   DailyWire.com
Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion soccer player Megan Rapinoe deliers remarks during and event to mark Equal Pay Day with U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and first lady Dr. Jill Biden in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on March 24, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

U.S. Women’s Soccer star Megan Rapinoe on Sunday advocated for the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, despite the physical advantages biological males have over biological females.

Rapinoe, who often promotes left-wing politics, claimed legislation seeking to separate athletics by biological sex rather than gender identity are an “attack” on transgender people and an attempt to “solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

“These bills are some of the most intense political assaults on LGBTQ people in recent years. Sports have become another avenue to attack the rights of trans people,” she argued in an essay published at The Washington Post. “These efforts cause incredible harm to trans youth, who, like all kids in a global pandemic, are feeling isolated and need compassion and support.”

“Proponents of these bills argue that they are protecting women,” Rapinoe continued. “As a woman who has played sports my whole life, I know that the threats to women’s and girls’ sports are lack of funding, resources, and media coverage; sexual harassment; and equal pay. … Adults can’t present that we care about the well-being of children while actively creating environments that cause serious harm to them. We can’t make demands for a false sense of fairness while ignoring the actual needs of women and girls.”

“Transgender kids deserve the same chances to enjoy sports; to gain confidence, self-respect and leadership skills; and to learn what it means to be part of a team,” she wrote. “When we tell transgender girls that they can’t play girls’ sports — or transgender boys that they can’t play boys’ sports — they miss out on these important experiences and opportunities. And we lose the right to say we care about children.”

Barring transgender girls from girls’ sports is “discrimination,” Rapinoe claimed.

“Discrimination hurts everyone. We’re stronger as teams, and as a country, when all people who love sports have a chance to have their lives changed for the better, just like I did. I want every transgender kid out there to know that they can live their dreams and be true to who they are. For them to realize those dreams, they need to be allowed to play.”

The Biden administration is on the same side as Rapinoe. The Department of Justice last month withdrew support for a lawsuit brought by three high school female athletes that would block biological males from competing in girls’ sports in Connecticut, The Daily Wire reported. The suit was backed by Trump-nominated former Attorney General Bill Barr.

One of three girls who had brought the lawsuit, Alanna Smith, in clear disagreement with Rapinoe, blasted the Biden administration over the withdrawal during a recent appearance on Fox News.

“I got involved after I ran against the biological males at the New England meet because in the 200 meter I took third place when I should have gotten runner-up,” she said. “And it’s not really about placement but it’s all about knowing that I work so many hours a week to be able to get runner-up in New England’s [championships] as a freshman. And I am really disappointed in the news, because me and the other girls, Selina and Chelsea, have worked really hard to get our stories out there, to get people to realize that fairness needs to be restored in our sport and all other women’s sports.”

Smith added that “people should realize that a lot of biological females have missed out on making it to meets that really matter, like states and regionals, and the transgender athletes have taken spots on the podium that belong to biological females.”

“We train for so many days a week, so many hours to be able to be the best in our state and the best in our region, and these biological males are just taking it away from us and we really deserve it,” the athlete said.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on January 20 stating, “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”

According to the Austin American-Statesman, the order “does not impose any new guidelines that would immediately bring changes to school sports … Instead, it requires federal agencies, including the U.S. Education Department, to review existing policies and programs to determine whether they are in line with the new guidance prohibiting discrimination based on gender and sexuality, and to implement changes if needed.”

Related: Third GOP Gov Moves To Protect Girls Sports: Athletes To Be Separated By Biological Sex, Not Gender Identity

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