Bicameral Binary: Two Chambers, Two Sexes and One Test for Congress
The U.S. Senate has sent the House a bipartisan college-sports bill with a decisive 77-22 vote, but the fight over protecting women’s athletics is far from over. Craig DeRoche, president and CEO of Family Policy Alliance and a former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, says House lawmakers now face a simple test: Will they preserve the protections for female athletes that senators fought to put into the Protect College Sports Act?
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- Senate passes college sports protections 77-22
- House now faces the test of protecting female athletes
- 27 states already protect women’s sports
- Idaho case exposes dangers of vague federal language
- Congress should make women’s sports protections permanent
DeRoche recently warned in American Thinker that the Senate’s action represents an important victory for parents and female athletes but only if the House leaves intact the language preventing the federal legislation from preempting state laws protecting women’s sports. Twenty-seven states currently have such protections, and DeRoche says Congress must not inadvertently wipe them away through vague federal language.
Precedent sides with Women
His concern comes from experience. DeRoche points to Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which survived years of litigation before the Supreme Court upheld the state’s authority to reserve female teams for females. He argues that lawmakers should have learned a fundamental lesson from that legal battle: courts interpret statutes, not assurances from politicians or government officials.
That makes the House debate especially consequential. DeRoche says there should be no trading away the women’s-sports protections as lawmakers negotiate over other provisions of the legislation. Whatever reaches President Trump’s desk, he argues, should preserve the language protecting state women’s-sports laws word for word.
DeRoche also believes Congress should examine another provision that could affect female athletes: protections intended to prevent colleges from cutting women’s and Olympic sports. Some of those protections currently expire after nine years, while other benefits in the legislation do not. If Congress truly believes women’s sports deserve protection, DeRoche argues, those protections should be permanent.
The broader question, he says, is whether college athletics can recover its original purpose, which is developing discipline, teamwork, humility and perseverance amid an increasingly lucrative sports industry.
With the House facing pressure from both sides over the college-sports bill, DeRoche can explain what is at stake for female athletes, parents and the future of women’s sports — and why the House should not sacrifice hard-won protections in the final legislative negotiations.
Relevant Article(s):
Will the House maintain Senate momentum on protecting women’s sports? – American Thinker
Let Parents Parent – Family Policy Alliance
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- What exactly did the Senate accomplish with its 77-22 vote on the Protect College Sports Act?
- Why is the House now the critical battleground for protecting women’s sports?
- What language in the Senate bill protects existing state laws on women’s sports?
- Why do you believe that language must remain unchanged in the final legislation?
- What lessons should Congress take from the legal battle over Idaho’s women’s sports law?
- Could House negotiations unintentionally undermine protections already enacted by 27 states?
- Why should protections against cutting women’s and Olympic sports become permanent?
- What would passage of a weakened bill mean for female athletes and their families?
ABOUT CRAIG DEROCHE…
Craig DeRoche serves as President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance, the central hub of the pro-family movement, equipping citizens, churches, and elected officials to protect children, defend parents’ rights, and advance biblical values through civic engagement. Under Craig’s leadership, FPA and its network of 40 state family policy councils have helped lead major national campaigns including Save Girls Sports, Help Not Harm, After Roe, and Let Parents Parent.
Craig previously served as Speaker of the House in Michigan and president of Justice Fellowship, founded by Watergate figure, Chuck Colson. He is a frequent speaker and author on faith, culture, public policy, and civic engagement and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fox News, and Christianity Today. Craig is also a devoted husband and father and the author of Highly Functional and Outrageous Justice.
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