LU student-athletes join Virginia leaders, activist Riley Gaines in Richmond to rally for women’s sports

Four student-athletes from Liberty University’s women’s swimming & diving team attended the Protecting Women’s Sports Press Event on Wednesday at the Office of the Attorney General, in Richmond, Va., to support state legislation that would prevent men from competing against women.

Liberty student-athletes Elizabeth Mumau, Faith Forsberg, and sisters Shelby and Ella Kahn joined other female student-athletes in Virginia, including two senior swimmers from Roanoke College who had been forced to share locker room spaces with a male teammate who identified as female.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and state legislators attended the event, along with several Republican delegates responsible for proposing two bills, HB1809 and SB749, which seek to strengthen and preserve the fairness, safety, and opportunities for female athletes while maintaining the integrity of sports within the established biological categories.

Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky Wildcat who competed against trans-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Women’s National Championship, briefly spoke at the press conference. Gaines is now an activist and has fought for conservative legislation that will protect girls and women from competing against males in female-designated sports.

“This was amazing. I knew the importance of this event, but I don’t think I fully understood the magnitude until we were behind the stage,” said freestyle swimmer Ella Kahn. “… Just seeing their passion (for protecting women’s sports) was really amazing, and that’s when it hit me, and I knew this was a really important event. And it’s going to do a lot of change.”

The bills would require that a signed physician’s statement verify the biological sex of any player wishing to join a team specifically designated for one gender. They would also ban players whose biological sex is male from participating in teams or sports explicitly designated for females.

“I urge the General Assembly to pass this legislation because our daughters deserve the same opportunities as our sons,” Miyares said. “Let me be clear: the science is not up for debate. Yes, let’s trust the science. Biological males who have undergone puberty have a clear competitive advantage over females. They jump higher, they run faster, they hit harder. These are not opinions — these are undeniable facts.”

“Men have taken hundreds of victories from women in competitions they should never have entered,” Miyares added. “And each of those victories represents lost opportunities for a woman. A dream deferred, or a dream destroyed.”

At the federal level, The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (HR28) passed the House of Representatives 218-206 Tuesday morning. This bill will amend Title IX, a federal civil rights law banning sex discrimination in educational institutions and programs receiving federal funding, to prevent schools from permitting transgender girls or women to take part in sports programs designated for girls or women.

Gaines commended Virginia’s leaders for their strong support for women’s rights, fairness, and safety in the realm of sports.

“Their leadership on this issue, especially AG Miyares, has really set a precedent for the rest of the nation to follow,” said Gaines, who was a 12-time All-American. “I will never forget how I was treated by the democrats in the state of Virginia. … They allowed this to happen. … I’m here to tell you to echo AG’s message: that women matter, that I matter, these women standing on the steps behind us, they matter.”

Gaines will be the keynote speaker for Liberty’s Standing for Freedom Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series on March 20. She will then grace Liberty’s Convocation stage the following day, on March 21.

Following Wednesday’s event, the Liberty students spent some time discussing these issues further with Gaines, Miyares, and other players and parents who have been impacted by recent policies allowing men in women’s sports.

“I hope that more people in the state of Virginia will support this issue,” Ella Kahn said. “Like many of the speakers said, this issue is very black and white in my mind. I just pray and hope that more people will be willing to stand up for what is right and stand up for women’s sports, besides just the leadership.”