Women’s groups see path forward with possible House vote on women in sports bill

Former NCAA swimming champion Marshi Smith and NCAA Woman of the Year finalist Annie Chandler Grevers joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss fairness in women's sports.

A potential House vote on a Republican-led bill on protecting women and girls in sports is a sign of hope for women’s groups who fear the future of women’s sports is being threatened.

Reps. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., filed a discharge petition on Tuesday for Stuebe's bill called the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021.

KENTUCKY SWIMMER  WHO TIED WITH LIA THOMAS SAYS MAJORITY OF WOMEN NOT OKAY WITH ‘TRAJECTORY’ OF FEMALE SPORTS

The discharge petition, if it reaches 218 signatures, would force a House vote on the bill that would make it a federal crime under Title IX for any recipient of federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities "to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls."

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas accepts the winning trophy for the 500 Freestyle finals as second place finisher Emma Weyant and third place finisher Erica Sullivan watch during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia.  (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mahri Irvine, executive director of Women’s Liberation Front, which endorsed the bill, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the bill is "so incredibly important" in order to preserve women’s and girls’ sports.

"What this bill is doing is addressing such a serious problem of social injustice that we're facing at this time," Irvine said. "Because we've seen over and over