…Morrisey, a Republican, defended the law in a statement to CNN later Monday, saying: “Our case is simple: It’s about protecting opportunities for women and girls in sports.”
The ban “was designed to maintain the integrity of girls’ and women’s sports in both secondary and postsecondary public schools,” the attorney general said, ignoring the fact that the law is exclusionary of certain girls and women.
The law is not exclusionary of any girls or women. It is exclusionary of boys and men—I guess I have to add the term “biological,” though there is no other kind—and specifically in girls’ and women’s sports. This type of reporter-injected opinion, which directly contradicts the quoted source, is typical of mainstream media’s bias in reporting.
West Virginia’s emergency request gives the Supreme Court a chance to weigh in on a hot-button issue that has taken center stage in recent years as Republican-led states have moved to impose restrictions on the lives of trans youth, with a particular focus on school sports.
This entire paragraph is about framing the issue as a GOP assault on vulnerable kids. Many of us, who are decidedly not rightwing or GOP, are trying to protect the rights of girls and women.
A number of GOP-controlled states have enacted similar sports bans in recent years, with at least eight putting one on their books in 2022 alone.
Boys’ and men’s sports are “open,” meaning anyone may participate. Only girls’ and women’s sports are restricted due to the inherent physical advantages of male athletes.
In pushing such measures, conservatives have argued that transgender women and girls have physical advantages over cisgender women and girls in sports, though a 2017 report found “no direct or consistent research” on any such advantage.
“A 2017 report” is perhaps the most laughable attempt at sourcing that I’ve heard in awhile. Not only is there no way for a reader to verify this anonymous report since there’s no link or other identifying information, but anyone who has watched girls’ and boys’ sports (or women’s and men’s) knows there is a marked difference between the two. But claiming that “a 2017 report” said otherwise, the author avoids a charge of lying. But for those paying attention, we know exactly what’s going on. It’s repugnant, it’s why the mainstream media has to be fact-checked, and it’s why most news organizations are no longer trusted.