HR1028-119

What This Bill Does

The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act amends title 36 provisions governing the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It adds biological definitions of female, male, and sex to section 220501. Female is defined by the reproductive system that produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization, with caveats for developmental or genetic anomalies or historical accident. Male is defined similarly by the reproductive system that produces, transports, and utilizes sperm. Sex is defined as biological sex, either male or female. The bill then adds a USOPC duty to prohibit a person whose sex is male from participating in an amateur athletic competition designated for females, women, or girls.

Who Benefits and How

Female athletes who support sex-based competition rules benefit because the bill requires exclusion of male-sex participants from female, women's, and girls' amateur competitions governed through USOPC structures. Sports organizations seeking a federal biological-sex standard benefit from explicit statutory definitions. Parents and advocates who support female-only competition categories benefit from a federal eligibility mandate. National governing bodies benefit from a clear federal rule, though it may also constrain their discretion. Competition organizers benefit from statutory definitions to apply when classifying female, male, and sex.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Transgender women and girls, and other athletes classified as male under the bill's definitions, bear exclusion from female, women's, and girls' amateur competitions covered by the USOPC framework. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee must enforce the prohibition and integrate the definitions into eligibility rules. National governing bodies must adjust policies and competition eligibility practices. Athletes with developmental or genetic differences may face classification reviews under the bill's biological definitions. Civil-rights advocates opposing categorical exclusion bear a policy burden from the federal mandate.

Key Provisions

• Defines female by reproductive-system characteristics tied to egg production, transport, and use.
• Defines male by reproductive-system characteristics tied to sperm production, transport, and use.
• Defines sex as biological sex, either male or female.
• Requires the USOPC to prohibit male-sex participants from female, women's, and girls' amateur athletic competitions.
• Applies the eligibility rule through the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.
• Constrains national governing bodies that operate under the USOPC framework.