Yesterday Bill Cassidy posted on Facebook, “Say it with me — biological males have no place in girls’ sports.” He paired the statement with a factually erroneous article titled, “Biden’s Politically Correct Assault on Girls Sports.”
The article was written by the Washington Examiner Editorial Team, which frequently publishes articles masquerading as pro-women while simultaneously undermining them and the issues they face.
True to this pattern, the article makes it out to be a huge tragedy that men are allowed in women’s sports although it becomes apparent throughout the piece that they hold no respect for female athletes and therefore couldn’t possibly care that much.
One example of this is how they mention that “In soccer, the world champion U.S. Women’s National Team was soundly defeated, 5-2, in a scrimmage against the under-15 boys’ squad for a middling Major League Soccer franchise” citing this as an instance that proves men are far superior to women in athletic pursuits.
However, this anecdote is false.
What they are referencing is a situation that has been continually cited by conservative media as an example of the women’s soccer team’s ineptitude when in reality they and FC Dallas recognized the scrimmage as a fun time to horse around before their real match against Russia. FC Dallas doesn’t even have anything on their website reporting the supposed win.
The article continues to bash women athletes while simultaneously claiming that sports are important and formative for them and that transgender athletes will ruin everything by beating them.
They clarify, “This isn’t just a matter of fairness. Each transgender athlete takes a spot on a team, or a spot in competition, away from a female athlete” and finish the article by calling
Biden’s executive order an “anti-woman policy.”
In making these statements the article’s motivation becomes crystal clear since the Editorial Team’s bias is revealed: they don’t believe that transgender women are actually women.
This isn’t about female sports it’s about limiting transgender individuals.
Cassidy’s motivation in posting the article and a bigoted statement to accompany it is also clear considering he has never shown an enthusiasm for the integrity of women’s sports previously but has worked against transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community in the past.
In a press release on his website, Bill Cassidy criticized “the Obama administration’s decision to issue guidance for every public school regarding which bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers transgender students may use” stating that he believes that decisions should be left up to “states, parents, school boards, communities, students, and teachers.”
This criticism, which he sent to the US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and US Secretary of Education John King, if taken seriously would have opened the door for discrimination against transgender students.
He also famously co-sponsored the First Amendment Defense Act which would protect people from repercussions who discriminate against same-sex couples.
His Facebook post did not reveal anything new about his views and priorities. Bill Cassidy has and will continue to work against the LGBTQ+ community.