Republican Gov. Kay Ivey called upon ESPN to correct its reporting on a new law in her state that will ban men from participating in women’s sports at the college level.
Though Alabama already bans men from intruding on women’s sports in K-8, the new law would expand those bans into college sports. When reporting the story, ESPN framed it as a law banning “transgender women” from certain sports.
“Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban transgender women from playing on female sports teams in college. This expands the state’s existing ban on transgender athletes on K-12 sports teams,” it said.
In response, Ivey told the network to replace “transgender women” with the word “men.”
Let me fix that, @espn.
*Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation on Tuesday that will ban biological MEN from playing on FEMALE sports teams in college. #alpolitics https://t.co/aFda69PyyB
— Kay Ivey (@kayiveyforgov) May 31, 2023
As ESPN reported, the law “expands the state’s existing 2021 ban on transgender athletes on K-12 sports teams to include college teams.”
“Students assigned one sex at birth would be prohibited from playing under a different gender identity, even after undergoing hormone treatment,” it noted.
Ivey said in a statement when signing the bill into law that the ban aims to promote fairness.
“Look, if you are a biological male, you are not going to be competing in women’s and girls’ sports in Alabama. It’s about fairness, plain and simple,” Ivey said.
Alabama’s ban on men competing in women’s college sports comes after the Lone Star state of Texas issued a ban on transgender surgeries for minors, essentially stopping puberty blockers and hormone treatments on teens. The bill will provide a small exemption for minors already receiving gender transition treatment prior to the law’s passage. Texas is the largest state in the union to issue such a ban.
Transgender woman Lia Thomas (L) of the University of Pennsylvania stands on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle as other medalists (L-R) Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan, and Brooke Forde pose for a photo at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship on March 17, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
“The bill would prohibit a doctor from performing mastectomies or surgeries that would sterilize a child or remove otherwise healthy tissue or body parts, or from prescribing drugs that would induce transient or permanent infertility. It now heads to the governor’s desk,” the New York Times reported.
As Breitbart News reported, the state of Florida also banned transgender surgeries and “gender-affirming” care for minors in May.
“Florida is officially banning the mutilation of minors in the name of ‘gender affirmation,’ as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday signed legislation addressing issues associated with the radical left’s transgender agenda,” it reported. “DeSantis signed another batch of legislation, including S.B. 254, which will permanently ‘outlaw the mutilation of minors,’ the governor explained.”
DeSantis said the law will also ban “surgical procedures and experimental puberty blockers for minors” and “will also require any adults receiving the surgeries to be informed about the irreversible nature and about the dangers of the procedures.”
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.