'Kick their a**!' Republican leadership touts key protections against men in women's sports

During a closed-door lunch Wednesday, House Republican leadership touted Congress' efforts to protect women from trans-identifying male athletes.

Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) hosted Republican colleagues, female athletes, and advocates like Independent Women and Concerned Women for America to highlight the progress being made to keep men out of women's sports. During the lunch, Emmer shared the advice he would give his own daughter if she were to compete with a boy.

'My life changed completely in an instant.'

"I got seven kids — six boys and one daughter," Emmer said. "And this may be inappropriate, but I'm going to say the way I believe. I not only taught my daughter to compete with boys, I taught her to kick their ass!"

"But I just look at my daughter, and I asked myself, what parent would not stand up and say this is wrong?"

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Courtesy of Rep. Emmer's office

Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, who co-hosted the lunch, shared the pushback she experienced trying to advocate for female athletes.

"I was the chair of the bipartisan women's caucus, and we were taking a vote on initiatives that we were going to champion as Republicans and Democrats. In the final five minutes of the meeting, I said, 'Hey, we're missing a key issue here. I think we should take a position as women on protecting women's sports.'"

"You would not believe the conversation that ensued," Cammack said. "I had more women shouting me down, telling me how hateful we were for even mentioning this and that we were going to be excluding people. I knew in that moment that we had to do something."

In the aftermath, Cammack founded the Republican Women's Caucus, where she continued to stand for women's sports.

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Courtesy of Rep. Emmer's office

Several female athletes were also present, all of whom had their own experience playing against male athletes who claimed to be women.

One athlete in attendance was Payton McNabb, a former girls' volleyball player whose life was turned around because the adults around her refused to stand up for the young women on her team. McNabb was severely injured in 2022 when her high school volleyball team was forced to compete against a male athlete who slammed the ball in her face and knocked her unconscious.

"I went to the doctor, and they explained how I had a concussion, a brain bleed, and permanent whiplash," McNabb said. "All this could have been completely avoided from the start, and I could have been living my normal life playing college volleyball. But all of that got taken away because of this game, and I never played volleyball again."

"I couldn't drive for several months. I went from being top three in my class to needing extra time on tests and accommodations in school. ... My life changed completely in an instant. It was really hard on me — not only on me, but on my family who had to watch me suffer. ... That's why it's been so important to share my story across the country."

Editor's note: This article has been edited after publication to include specific advocacy groups.

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