Men returning women to sidelines of sports

Former Olympian tells 'America Reports' the NCAA only 'kicked the can down the road' with its new policy.

Long before I was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, I was a high school girl swimmer who yearned for the ability to compete interscholastically.  

I had witnessed the energy of spectators cheering for swim teams comprised exclusively of male athletes and longed for the ability to partake in such an experience. High schools in Illinois didn’t offer that opportunity to young women in those days. 

Sandra Bucha competing in a marathon swim across Lake Saint Jean in Canada in 1974.

In 1972, the American Civil Liberties Union represented me in a lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association, arguing that, if there were no girls’ team at a school, a girl should be allowed to compete for a spot on the boys’ team. In the district judge’s ruling against us, he agreed that separate teams for girls should exist but also found that allowing girls on boys’ teams wouldn’t be fair due to the glaring biological differences between the sexes. 

LIA THOMAS' SWIMMING FUTURE IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOLLOWING NCAA'S UPDATED TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION POLICY

Then Congress enacted Title IX, a law that prohibits sex discrimination by schools that receive federal money. Suddenly, women’s athletic teams and leagues were popping up everywhere, offering all kinds of opportunities for female athletes to train and compete, win awards, and secure scholarships. It was a whole new world. 

But now, nearly half a century later, a new generation of women and girls are facing the same challenges I did, only with a twist: They are losing their best athletic opportunities to menwho identify as women.  You’ve probably heard the stories,