High school runner demands level playing field
Connecticut high school track athlete Alanna Smith and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Kiefer on female athletes fighting for an equal playing field on the anniversary of Title IX.
A high school track athlete was forced to compete against two biological males in her freshman year and as a result, she said she lost confidence in her athletic abilities.
Athlete Alanna Smith and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Kiefer joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss the ongoing fight for an equal playing field on the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX.
"I felt like the race was over before I even began," Smith described to host Dana Perino about being forced to compete against biological males.
Smith said at one tournament, she went home with a third-place medal instead of second place, feeling like her hard work and training had not paid enough as much as it should have.
The emergence of transgender athletes in sports has created debate over whether a transgender woman or girl has a competitive advantage over a biological woman or girl.
With Thursday marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the discourse is only getting hotter.
The Biden administration wants transgender athletes to enjoy the same protections Title IX originally afforded women when it passed five decades ago. At that point in 1972, the debate about transgender athletes was many years away.
Smith said she is speaking out against the unequal playing field for girls in sports in order to inspire other athletes to do the same.
Lia Thomas looks on from the podium after finishing fifth in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 18, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Kiefer is helping Smith in her legal fight to preserve girls' sports.
"We must not only celebrate the accomplishments of these incredible female athletes, but also work to protect Title IX and women's sports for the next generation," she said, arguing the Biden administration is now allowing men to compete and dominate in women's sports.
"The bottom line is we must protect the female sex category so that girls like Alanna can continue to showcase their talents, be on the podium and earn those college scholarships that are so critical to their future careers."
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Smith said she plans to continue her education and track career at the University of Tennessee. A lawsuit by Smith and other Connecticut athletes against the state's policy on transgender competitors was thrown out by a federal judge last year.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report