The “Protect College Sports Act" has a fatal flaw: It doesn’t protect women | Riley Gaines

Leigh Ross-Dakich explains that the women who helped build up girls sports are now having to be quiet about the trans athlete issue.

I’ve stood on the starting block knowing the race was already rigged. I’ve touched the wall at the same time as a male competitor and been told to smile for the cameras. So when Congress names a bill the "Protect College Sports Act," I pay attention.

The Protect College Sports Act sounds great. Who wouldn’t want to protect college sports? But buried in dozens of pages about athlete compensation and coaching transitions is language that threatens existing state laws, including laws that protect fairness in women's sports.

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Riley Gaines and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham pose for a photo following Sunday's game at Target Center against the Minnesota Lynx. (Riley Gaines/XX-XY Athletics)

As someone who knows firsthand the devastation of watching the trophy you spent years training to win be handed to a physically dominant male competitor, and then experiencing the shock of seeing that same male expose himself to other girls as he undresses in the locker room, I have a personal stake in making sure no other young woman goes through that. I’ve spent years traveling across the country with other athletes, sharing our experiences with state lawmakers and Congress, urging them to pass common-sense laws that keep men off the girls’ playing field and out of girls’ locker rooms.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS FILE AMENDMENT TO STOP COLLEGE SPORTS BILL FROM OVERRIDING STATE WOMEN'S SPORTS LAWS

A total of 27 states now have these laws. President Trump signed an executive order recognizing that men are men, women are women, and guys don't belong in girls' sports. Because of