WATCH: Female student reacts to women’s sports saga

On this episode of “5 Big Questions,” Campus Reform Correspondent Aleana Smiley discussed Ohio’s recent attempt to safeguard women’s sports with Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha.

“College campuses are really a hot spot for this transgender acceptance and this push for overall equality, but what we’re seeing with biological men competing in women’s sports is that it’s really unfair to women,” Smiley said.

Ohio attempted to join 19 other states in restricting athletic eligibility for transgender students to compete based on ‘gender identity.’ 

The provision that would regulate gendered sports to be based on biological sex was added as an amendment to an unrelated bill during a late-night House session on June 1. 

The bill, titled “Replace Ohio Teacher Residency program with local mentorship,” resides in the state senate where its fate is still undetermined.

As an athlete, Smiley thinks it is imperative that Ohio legislatures take action to protect fair competition in women’s sports.

“I swam for eight years so I know what it means to put in the work,” she said. “I was a state qualifier, so I know what it means to get to that elite level. Especially in college, it takes a lot of training, a lot of dedication, to get to the level that these women are training for.”

Smiley shared her concerns that conceding to allow men to compete alongside women could “erase womanhood.”

“We’re all going to be this genderless blob, sort of, just walking around not really having anything to identify with other than what we feel,” she warned. “I feel like it’s very difficult to go off of what you feel and completely ignore the truth.”

Watch the full video above.

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