Utah House Speaker: 'Men have no place in women's sports — period'

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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz left little doubt about his opinion of a federal judge's ruling allowing a San Jose State transgender athlete to compete in this week's Mountain West Conference women's volleyball tournament.

"Men have no place in women's sports — period," said Shultz in a statement released Monday night.

Earlier Monday, federal Judge Kato Crews denied a request from a group of current and former players, as well as a coach, to force the MWC to sit a transgender player from the Spartans' squad. The suit's plaintiffs, which included one of the transgender athlete's college teammates, argued that the conference policy on transgender athletes violates Title IX.

"These athletes took a courageous stand for what is right: that women's sports are for women," added Schultz. "I stand with them and will continue to fight to protect fairness and integrity in competition. This injustice against female athletes must stop, and it's time for adults to step up and speak out."

In his ruling Monday, Crews also denied a motion from Utah State University to join that same lawsuit as a plaintiff.

"Utah State is reviewing the court's order," said Utah State University spokesperson Amanda DeRito following Crews' decision. "Right now, our women's volleyball program is focused on the game this Wednesday, and we'll be cheering them on."

Last week, Schultz and the rest of the Beehive State's ranking political leaders — including Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and the state's entire U.S. congressional delegation — offered unified calls for the MWC to amend its policy allowing "biological men" from competing in women's sports.

In their joint statement, Cox, Adams and Schultz requested that Utah State University "move to intervene" in the lawsuit against the MWC and San Jose State University.

Prior to the Monday ruling, Utah's governor and the two Republican state legislative leaders released a statement where they were direct in their intent to "defend our female athletes."

"Female athletes deserve the right to a safe playing field, fair competition and equal opportunities. By intervening, Utah State will send a clear message that these rights are non-negotiable. The NCAA, Mountain West Conference and other institutions across the nation have failed to take action, thereby undermining vital protections and putting female athletes at risk. We will continue to defend our female athletes and the integrity of our athletic programs," the statement said.

Utah's senate president voices in

Adams also released a post-ruling statement Monday evening.

"We must protect the integrity of women's sports to ensure they remain fair and safe for all," he said. "I continue to urge the NCAA, the Mountain West Conference and institutions across the country to adopt Utah's data-driven, evidence-based commission approach."

When asked for a comment, Cox's office referred the Deseret News back to last week's joint statement regarding his position on the transgender athlete issue.

Meanwhile, Utah's U.S. congressional leaders all added their signatures last week to a letter addressed to Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez.

"We write with serious concerns about the safety and fair competition standards for female athletes participating in the Mountain West Conference," the letter said. "We urge you to update your student-athlete guidelines to prohibit biological males from competing against biological female students in women's sports."

The letter goes on to say that Title IX was established 50 years ago to "even the playing field" for women.

"Title IX recognizes the fundamental biological differences between men and women and allows each to pursue educational programs and activities equally, including athletics," the letter said. "Failure to recognize these biological differences between males and females puts our daughters and granddaughters in harm's way."

Life isn't fair, the letter concluded, "But sports should be."

Letter signees include Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney and Utah Reps. Burgess Owens, John Curtis, Celeste Maloy and Blake Moore, along with several U.S. senators and representatives from Idaho and Wyoming.

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Jason Swensen

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Jason Swensen is a writer for the Church News and contributor to the Deseret News. He has won multiple awards from the Utah Society of Professional Journalists. Swensen was raised in the Beehive State and graduated from the University of Utah. He is a husband and father — and has a stack of novels and sports biographies cluttering his nightstand.