State Rep. Daire Rendon recently introduced legislation protecting the sanctity of high school athletics by preserving fair competition.

Rendon’s plan, House Bill 5082, creates the “Protecting Opportunities for Women in Sports Law.” It states that at the high school level, if a school offers a designated girls’ team for a particular sport, the team must be comprised of girls. If a school offers a designated boys’ team for a particular sport, the team must be comprised of boys – using biological sex at birth as the determining factor.

“This is about fair competition,” said Rendon, of Lake City. “Title IX afforded people the right to an equal opportunity to compete in athletics on a level playing field. By not competing on the basis of biological sex and instead competing on the basis of gender identity, we are straying from the concept of a level playing field. I worry about the consequences for athletes in the future who are competing for championships and scholarships and are trying to do so fairly.”

The bill does not prohibit schools from having teams consisting of both males and females in sports that have no specific designation, such as football or wrestling.

HB 5082 has been referred to the House Education Committee for consideration.