Josue Sierra: When progressives turn their backs on women

When a male volleyball player identifying as female spiked a ball into Payton McNabb’s head, it ended her athletic career. A concussion. Lasting vision and memory problems. This isn’t just about fairness—it’s about safety.

Yet here in Pennsylvania, some Democratic lawmakers refuse to even engage in that discussion. The Save Women’s Sports Act (SB9), which protects female athletic competition by ensuring that girls’ sports remain just that — girls’ sports — moved out of committee last Wednesday and will come to the full senate for a vote at some point in the near future. But rather than address the undeniable biological differences between men and women, or the dozens of real-world examples where female athletes were harmed or displaced, many progressive legislators are simply pretending there’s no issue at all.

“For what reason, other than political gain, are we spending time and taxpayer dollars on a completely made-up issue?” asked Senator Lindsey Williams during last week’s Education Committee hearing. But there is nothing “made up” about 600+ female athletes losing medals to biological males in over 29 sports worldwide. There is nothing imaginary about 66 Pennsylvania girls since 2020 losing placements in swimming, track, and fencing. And Payton McNabb’s injury is all too real. This is not political theater — it’s physical, emotional, and institutional harm.

Senator Carolyn Comitta dismissed the bill as “a distraction.” This from the same senator who co-sponsored the “Menstrual Equity Act” legislation mandating taxpayer-funded menstrual products in schools and public restrooms, including men’s restrooms. Senator Comitta believes there are enough trans-identifying female students needing feminine hygiene products in men’s restrooms to justify legislation—but somehow sees no problem when male transgender students compete in girls’ sports and displace female athletes. Ignoring science and the facts, Comitta and her allies repeat a widely disseminated talking point that SB 9 is a “solution in search of a problem”. They will say anything in order to avoid engaging with intellectual honesty and acknowledging the real victims of transgender ideology. 

And then there’s Senator Tim Kearney, who said, “I have yet to see statistics about the number of athletes we’re talking about, or how often this occurs.” Has he not read the New York Times? Pew Research? Or the testimonies shared right in our own capitol? For Senator Kearney, here are the facts: 

• *Over 600 female athletes worldwide have lost more than 890 medals to male competitors identifying as female in over 29 sports (UN report, March 2024).
• *Since 2020 in Pennsylvania alone, girls have lost medals or placements in 66 separate instances—from swimming to fencing to track.
• *Former NC volleyball player Payton McNabb suffered a career-ending injury after being spiked in the head by a male player identifying as female. She was knocked unconscious and still suffers lasting effects.

This is truly a non-partisan issue. According to a poll by Parents Defending Education, 78 percent of parents nationwide oppose biological males competing in girls’ sports. That includes 86 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of independents, and even 60 percent of Democrats. Across racial lines, opposition is strong: 82 percent of black parents, 83 percent of Hispanic parents, 88 percent of Asian parents, and 75 percent of white parents.

The problem isn’t a lack of facts — it’s an obvious and intellectually dishonest attempt to avoid the issue for partisan reasons. 

Even more glaring is the abandonment of Title IX’s original purpose: to ensure women have equal access to athletic opportunities. That mission was grounded in the reality of biological differences. Now, we’re told by Senator Williams that recognizing those differences is somehow demeaning: “A vote for this bill is in support of an idea that girls are less capable than boys. We are not.”

No one is saying women are less capable. We’re saying they’re biologically different. And science agrees. On average, biological males have greater muscle mass, bone density, and speed. That’s why women’s sports exist in the first place. To pretend otherwise is not progress — it’s regression.

The refusal by some Pennsylvania Democrats to even debate the core question — do biological differences exist and matter in sports? — is a textbook case of avoidance. They hide behind cheap talking points, legal obfuscation and false smears of bigotry while dodging the reality facing young female athletes across the Commonwealth.

Our daughters deserve fairness, safety, and opportunity. They deserve our courage to speak and debate these issues honestly — even when it’s politically inconvenient. One would hope even a Democrat could do this.

Josue Sierra is the Director of Communications for PA Family Council. He lives in the Mid-Atlantic region together with his wife and five children.