Biological Male Swimmer Lia Thomas Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

Transgender, ,

A biological male has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas — a biological male who claims to be female — made headlines after shattering women’s swimming records last year and winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle in NCAA Division I championship in March.

Last week the NCAA listed Thomas among the 577 athletes nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to honor female athletes who have “distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.”

NCAA member schools are encouraged to nominate their top graduating female student-athletes for the Woman of the Year Award. The NCAA will recognize the award winner in January of 2023, following a lengthy selection process.

The story underscores once again how ignoring basic biological realities about male athletes and female athletes robs women of opportunities to receive recognition for their achievements.

As John Stonestreet wrote in 2021, “This sort of let’s-all-pretend-we-don’t-know-what’s-happening groupthink isn’t good for college sports or for women’s rights. It’s not good for Lia Thomas, his teammates, or his competitors. No matter how fast he swims, no man really breaks a women’s record.”

That is why the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 461 of 2021, The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover). The law prevents male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics.

Letting males compete in girls’ sports reverses 50 years of advances for women. It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults.

Act 461 is a good law that protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Venue Investigated for Declining to Host Same-Sex Weddings

Religious Freedom, , ,

A wedding and event venue in Iowa reportedly is under investigation for declining to host same-sex weddings.

News outlets indicate the Grand Rapids’ Office of Equity and Engagements is investigating The Broadway Avenue, a wedding and event venue, for possibly violating the city’s “human rights ordinance.”

The Broadway Avenue is owned and operated by a husband and wife team.

The couple proclaims on the venue’s website, “We believe in Jesus and are so blessed by his calling in our lives to start The Broadway Avenue!”

Christian-owned wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops have come under fire in recent years for declining to host or participate in same-sex ceremonies.

Many have found themselves targeted by state and local “non-discrimination” ordinances that do not contain adequate protections for people who want to operate their businesses in keeping with their deeply-held religious convictions.

Stories like these underscore why it is so important for states to enact solid protections for religious liberty.

Without good protections for religious liberty at the state level, cities and counties may be able to run roughshod over the free exercise of religion.

Fortunately, Arkansas enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015 that helps protect religious liberty.

And last year the Arkansas Legislature voted to place the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment on the 2022 ballot.

If passed, the amendment would enshrine many of the same religious liberty protections from the 2015 law into the Arkansas Constitution, and our protect religious liberties from further erosion.

You Can Learn More About the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment Here.

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