Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill Protecting Integrity of Women’s Sports

Clear Facts

• The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports. The legislation is now awaiting the governor’s approval.
• The bill, introduced in August 2023, mandates high school athletes in both public and private schools to compete according to their biological sex. The state Assembly passed the bill in October 2023.
• The legislation also provides female students who suffer any direct or indirect harm due to competing against male athletes the right to take legal action against the educational institution.

The Wisconsin Senate has taken a significant step towards preserving the integrity of women’s sports. On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill barring biological males from participating in women’s sports. The legislation is now on the governor’s desk.

Introduced in August 2023, the bill requires high school athletes, whether in public or private schools, to compete according to their biological sex. The legislation was passed by the Wisconsin senators in a 20 to 11 vote, with one Republican joining Democrats against it on the last day of the session.

Alongside this bill, the state Assembly passed two other bills in October 2023. These bills banned men from participating in women’s collegiate sports and prohibited physicians from performing sex change surgeries or administering puberty blockers to minors, risking their license if they do so.

However, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers expressed his intention to veto the legislation prior to the vote. He stated,
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“I’ll keep my promise to veto any bill making Wisconsin less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming for LGBTQ people and kids—including this one,” Evers wrote. “And I’ll be damn proud to do it.”

The bill also empowers female students who are “deprived of the opportunity to participate in an athletic sport or on an athletic team or who suffers any direct or indirect harm” due to competing against male athletes. These students have the right to “bring a cause of action against an educational institution for injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief available under law,” as per the text of the bill.

For the bill to overcome Evers’ veto, lawmakers would require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses in favor of overriding the governor’s decision. However, currently, Republicans fall just short of the necessary votes.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, half the country now has a law prohibiting athletes who identify as transgender from competing outside their biological sex categories. This comes as Nassau County filed a lawsuit on March 6 against Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York for demanding the county lift its ban on biological males in women’s sports.

As of now, Evers has not responded to requests for comment.

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