Ohio lawmakers push bill that bans transgender athletes from female sports teams

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) - Some Ohio lawmakers are now proposing legislation to ban transgender girls from women’s high school and collegiate sports.

"It makes it, so biological males cannot compete in female-only sport in the state of Ohio,” said Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum.

If House Bill 61 or "Save Women's Sports Act" were to pass, athletes would have to play on boys’ teams, even if they identify as female and have medically transitioned.

"What we're specifically looking at is saying, it is unfair for a biological male to compete against a female,” said Powell.

Sponsor Jena Powell says it's a bill she's been trying to push for two years.

"I want every little girl to be able to say, if I work hard enough I can achieve the gold podium with enough hard work. What we're seeing around the nation is when biological males compete against females, it robs little girls of that opportunity,” said Powell.

ABC6/FOX28 asked Lt. Governor Jon Husted about the bill.

"It's a matter of science. I know that there is a wide variety of opinions, it's not safe for girls to be competing against boys in some circumstances,” said Husted. "As a father with two young daughters who are athletes, I am interested in the issue but I think it's going to require some discussion to figure out what the right way is to do it and whether the conferences can handle it on their own."

Transgender advocate Jody Davis says she feels the bill is unnecessary because organizations including Ohio High School Athletic Association already have policies in place.

The policy says transgender females need to complete at least one year of hormone therapy and second, they need to show they don't have any physical advantages.

"These kind of bills come up I think to try and kind of stoke fear in people,” said Davis. "At that point, these advantages people think that trans women might have - muscle mass goes way down, stamina goes way down. There is very few reports of trans women cleaning up in real sport. So, it just goes back to this idea of fear."

For Davis, she feels the bill sends the wrong message and is a form of bullying.

"That's not what sports are supposed to be about,” said Davis.

Powell says she expects the bill to pass by the end of June.