15,000.
I’d like for you to take a minute to consider the meaning of that number.
The number 15,000 could easily represent the number of heart beats the average person has in about five minutes.
15,000 could be the number of days lived by someone who is 41 years old.
For this article 15,000 represents a number that I think we should all take note of.
15,000 represents the number of times that Allyson Felix’s 400 Meter Gold medal record has been broken by men and (wait for it)…boys in one calendar year (2017).
Recently researchers Doriane Lambelet Coleman and Wickliffe Shreve wrote an article for Duke Law’s Website. In their articles they detail that not only had Allyson Felix’s record been beaten by men and boys over 10,000 times that year, but also the personal best of Olympian Tori Bowie’s 100-meter sprint. When explaining what allowed these boys and men to shatter these records, Lambelet and Wickliffe highlight the number one finding of the research.
Namely, Lambelet and Wickliffe state that, “this differential isn’t the result of boys and men having a male identity, more resources, better training, or superior discipline. It’s because they have an androgenized body.” (Emphasis added).
Accordingly, the biological difference between male and female anatomy account for the stark difference in athletic performance. Females born with ovaries and who much-greater estrogen have different muscle composition, slower recovery, and a smaller and less dense bone structure. Men, however, born with testes and who produce much-greater testosterone, have more muscle composition, faster recovery times, and a large and more dense bone structure. Females with the highest testosterone level still typically have three times lower levels of the hormone than males with the lowest testosterone.
The development of testosterone in men has lifelong implications when it comes to sport. In particular, testosterone gives men and boys an edge in speed, strength, and endurance. The examples cited concerning Felix’s and Bowie’s record are not exceptional. Rather, they are the rule.
Consider this. In the WNBA, it is an almost universal practice to scrimmage male high school teams. The athletic difference among the sexes is so stark, the WNBA teams cannot scrimmage with their respective NBA teams. Nor can they practice against male collegiate basketball teams. Rather, in order to find an edge and appropriate challenge, WNBA teams face off with male teams two levels beneath them.
These biological differences present unfair obstacles squarely in the way of female competitors in high school and collegiate sports. Trans athletes like Lia Thomas take first place in college sports competitions in the female division while placing nearly last in the men’s division. The same has held true in running, weightlifting, wrestling, and volleyball.
Aside from the competitive disadvantage to women, there is also the reality of privacy violations in locker rooms where females are forced to dress with males and the very real threat of injury when females face off against biological men. Does this sound dramatic? Consider the case of a female volleyball player here in North Carolina who had her neck broken when a man who identified as a women spiked the ball on her. This must stop.
Therefore, I am an ardent supporter of the “Fairness in Women Sports Act” developed primarily by state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom. This act would prohibit biological men from competing on teams meant for biological females. It would take place immediately in our K-12 system and collegiate levels. This bill is not discriminatory. Rather it establishes logical reason, appropriate justice, true equity, and clear boundaries in a time when some would unjustly and haphazardly change our society and perception of reality.
Rep. Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson, is a United States Marine Corps veteran and former public school teacher. Ken is the lead pastor of Door of Life Church in Wilson. He is married to Francesca. Together they have three children. Republished from the Carolina Journal.
