Kaine Refuses to Protect Girls and Women in Sports
The artful dodge is a political move characteristic of weak politicians. Recently asked if he would support the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would amend Title IX, the 1972 Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act, Tim Kaine dodged. Virtually every observer knows that in lockstep with Biden and Schumer, Kaine assuredly opposes the bill. But stating so publicly will enrage an overwhelming majority of Virginians, so Kaine chose to dodge, albeit inartfully. He has used the same kind of dodge repeatedly in instances where he is asked to state his position on a controversial issue.
As he did in 2019 when he misleadingly denied that critical race theory was an issue in Virginia schools, Kaine now describes the admission of biological males into girls' and women’s sports as a “non-issue.” In reality, the matter is of acute importance to parents of female children across Virginia. Parents now struggle as biological males join girls’ swim, track, basketball, tennis, and a host of other sports teams in every urban area of Virginia, dramatically altering the competitive landscape, upsetting the odds of victory for girls, invading the privacy of girl athletes, and depriving girls of prospects for recognition and scholarships.
When asked about his stance on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, Kaine gave his all-too-familiar "hear no evil" line: “Two weeks of traveling around Virginia, nobody asked me about this . . . This is not what is on folks’ minds. This is an issue that’s getting a lot of attention in some media. It’s not what Virginians are worried about.” But Virginians are deeply troubled by this issue, as Kaine most assuredly knows.
As one who has also traveled across Virginia over the last two weeks, I can tell you that the entry of biological males into girls' and women’s sports is a very big issue indeed, as is the new bathroom policy in Loudoun County Public Schools whereby biological males and biological females will soon be forced to use the same restrooms (despite the obvious invasion of privacy and rape and sexual abuse risk to girls, a risk Loudoun County saw come to fruition not once but twice when in 2021 a boy donned a skirt and raped a girl in a girls’ restroom at one school then was moved to another only to repeat the offense).
This article was written on April 21, 2023, and published on Townhall
Jonathan Emord is a leading constitutional law and litigation expert, the author of five critically acclaimed books, and a Candidate for the US Senate.