PHOTO INFORMATION: (Top left to right): Reps. Linting, Steele, Johnsen (Bottom left to right): Rep. Thompson, Payton McNabb, a former high school girls’ volleyball player, who sustained serious injuries after being struck in the face by a spike from a transgender opponent during a game, and Rep. Wortz

State Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Township) today cast a key vote to protect women’s sports. House Bills 4066 and 4469 define sport classification by male and female at birth and enshrine Title IX protection for women’s sports in the Michigan Elliot-Larsen Act. Steele, a member of the House Republican Women’s Caucus, said it’s important to continue protecting women, especially girls, and upholding their guaranteed rights under Title IX.

“I still remember being a young girl when Title IX was signed into law, and I remember what things were like for women before that,” Steele said. “I signed up to play girls’ volleyball when it was first available at my school, and that experience can never be taken away from me. It’s important that we ensure that these experiences never be taken away from the girls of today, and tomorrow, and that we codify these protections into state law as they were intended.”

Both bills passed the Michigan House Thursday afternoon and are headed to the Senate.

“The women who came before me fought hard for women’s rights that we enjoy today,” Steele said. “Now it’s our day, and our duty, to continue the fight to protect women’s rights, and protect our girls and their futures.”