MHSAA: Defying Both Man’s and God’s Law

By: Lisa Van Houten

In the 20^th century, Russian dissident and Christian, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, urged fellow citizens of the Soviet Union to refuse to cooperate with the regime’s lies in his famous essay, Live Not by Lies.  The last election proved that many Americans are also rejecting the lies of our cultural regime which has tried to force us to pretend that gender is fluid and not tied to one’s biological sex.  Polls showed that the number one reason swing voters broke for Donald Trump was due to the transgender insanity pushed by the left.

Approximately 80% of Americans – including 67% of Democrats – are opposed to males competing in female sports.  There are very few issues upon which so many Americans agree, yet leftist elites continue to cling to their extremism – ignoring not only the will of the people, but more importantly, defying God’s revealed truth.

In recent years, female athletes have been forced to compete and share locker rooms with men; numerous girls have been injured in competition; and 900 medals that should have gone to female athletes have instead been awarded to males allowed to participate in female sports.

In just the last few days, additional headlines have revealed the heartbreak of female athletes required to either compete against males or sacrifice the athletic goals they’ve worked toward for years.  Female fencer, Stephanie Turner, heroically chose to live not by lies and took a knee in a USA Fencing event rather than compete against a male.  As she took the knee, she looked at the referee and said, “I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament. And I will not fence this individual.” Stephanie Turner received a black card by the officials for “serious rule infractions or unsportsmanlike behavior” and was expelled from the tournament.

In an interview afterwards, Stephanie Turner acknowledged, “It will probably, at least for a moment, destroy my life.”  Turner also told the New York Post: “My faith as a Christian has given me a lot of conviction in standing my ground.” Turner added:  “I did this for my own physical safety, because this is a combat sport — and, in competition setting, men do fence a lot harder than women and I don’t want to get hurt. It makes me very angry to see that we’re going along with somebody else’s fantasy.”

Yet USA Fencing allows men who biologically have greater height, muscle mass, and arm span to compete against women. The man Stephanie Turner would have been forced to compete against is Redmond Sullivan – who competed on Wagner College’s men’s fencing team just last year, before claiming to be a woman and switching to women’s competition. Sullivan never won a tournament when competing against men, but won the women’s Connecticut Division Junior Olympic Qualifiers after “identifying” as a woman. This picture shows Redmond Sullivan alongside female athletes.  I’m sure you can guess that Redmond Sullivan is the one on the right.

This past Saturday, pro disc golfer Abigail Wilson refused to compete against a man pretending to be a woman, Logan “Natalie” Ryan. This video shows the strength advantage men have over women, as Ryan crushes his female competitors, stealing a trophy that should have gone to a woman. Abigail Wilson stated: “Females deserve to have their gender protected division be protected. This is unfair. I have worked so hard to get to this point to play on the DGPT, but the sacrifice of my career and my hard work is worth it if it means I can make a difference for other women …. If you feel how wrong it is to have biological males be competing in female protected divisions in sports, now is the time to speak up and stand your ground. … Today I most likely ended my career and that is okay because this is bigger than me.”

Will we remain silent as girls are forced to take a knee?  See actions steps below to take a stand on their behalf.

In Oregon, a boy who finished dead last in the boys’ high jump in 2023, now “identifies” as a girl and just stole a title by winning the high jump in the girls’ division. And, what would have been a satirical Babylon Bee headline just a few years ago, two men were the finalists in a women’s pool tournament in England, beating out all the female competitors.

In February, President Trump signed an executive order banning men/boys from competing in female sports; schools which refuse to comply will lose federal funding.  As Trump bluntly and truthfully stated: “No matter how many surgeries you have or chemicals you inject, if you’re born with male DNA in every cell of your body, you can never become a woman. You’re not going to be a woman.”

Despite this binding order from the President, numerous public schools and universities are refusing to comply.  One is the state of Maine, where a male high school student, “identifying as female,” just stole first place in the girls’ pole-vaulting championship.

Just last week the Trump administration froze federal funding over Maine’s defiance of President Trump’s executive order banning men from women’s sports.  “In order to continue to receive taxpayer dollars from USDA, the state of Maine must demonstrate compliance with Title IX’s protection of female student athletes from having to compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males,” Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote. “USDA, alongside other federal agencies, will continue to pause and, where appropriate, terminate categories of education programming in Maine if these Title IX violations are not resolved to the satisfaction of the Federal Government.”

Here in Michigan, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is also thumbing its nose at the executive order banning males from female sports, even though 78% of Michiganders want boys out of girls’ sports.

Michigan’s Department of Education also refused to approve a resolution that would have affirmed Trump’s order protecting girls’ sports, with State School Superintendent Michael Rice citing: “The board of the MHSAA determined that there were no safety issues…” and “that there were no competitive disadvantages …”  Tell that to the 900 girls nationwide who have lost medals; who’ve been forced to share locker rooms with males; and have been injured in competition.  Rice shrugged off the concern, claiming that the issue of transgender athletes wasn’t affecting the vast majority of high school athletes.  Obviously, he’s willing to sacrifice the girls whose safety on the field, vulnerability in the locker room, and athletic aspirations are affected in order to promote a radical ideology that the vast majority of citizens oppose.

The Michigan House of Representatives adopted a bipartisan resolution calling on the MHSAA to align their eligibility rules with President Trump’s Executive Order and ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports.  State Representative Nancy De Boer [R-Holland] stated: “There is no question that males and females are different biologically.  Our girls deserve the right to fair competition. Allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports is not only unfair—it undermines the integrity of female athletics and puts our girls at risk.”

Notably, the NCAA was quick to change its policy limiting NCAA women’s sports to “student-athletes assigned female at birth only.” Yet, the MHSAA has so far refused to change its policy to comply with the federal order.

Urge the MHSAA to uphold the Executive Order and protect girls’ sports.  Email info@mhsaa.com. (See below for MHSAA sample letter.)

Also, email Meijer, Inc. – a corporate partner of MHSAA.  Ask Meijer to use its influence to urge the MHSAA to change their policy and protect girls’ sports or pull its sponsorship if MHSAA refuses.  Email Meijer CEO Rick Keyes at meijermediahotline@meijer.com (See below for Meijer sample letter.)

Sample letter to MHSAA:

Dear Mr. Uyl,

I’m writing to let you know how troubled I am by MHSAA’s refusal to align your policy with the federal ban on males participating in female sports. Both national and Michigan surveys show that approximately 80% of Americans are opposed to boys being allowed to invade girls’ sports and private spaces.  Female athletes have lost 900 medals to males and numerous young women have been injured.  MHSAA justifies your inclusion of males in female sports by claiming it currently affects very few girls, which tells me you’re willing to sacrifice even one girl’s safety, privacy, and athletic aspirations to promote a radical ideology that the vast majority oppose. 

 Notably, the NCAA was quick to change its policy limiting NCAA women’s sports to “student-athletes assigned female at birth only.” Yet, the MHSAA has so far refused to do so.  I strongly urge you to comply with Executive Order 14201 to protect Michigan girls.

Sample letter to Meijer, Inc.

Dear Mr. Keyes,

 Since Meijer is a corporate partner of MHSAA, I’m writing to express my concern regarding MHSAA’s refusal to comply with the federal ban on males participating in female sports.

Both national and Michigan surveys show that approximately 80% of Americans – potential Meijer shoppers – are opposed to boys being allowed to invade girls’ sports and private spaces.  Female athletes have lost 900 medals to males and numerous young women have been injured.  Not only is this an issue of safety and fairness, it is also a rejection of revealed truth that God has created two distinct genders.

 As a family-oriented company, I hope you share my concern; however, your partnership with MHSAA gives tacit approval of their policies.  I strongly encourage you to use your influence to urge MHSAA to align their eligibility rules with President Trump’s Executive Order protecting girls’ sports – or pull your sponsorship if MHSAA refuses.  Otherwise, it will prove to a watching public that Meijer stands with those pushing this radical ideology, rather than with Michigan girls. 

To view this article in your browser, Click Here

For more information, articles and newsletters, please check out our website at https://americandecency.org/

You can support ADA financially by visiting: https://give.cornerstone.cc/americandecency

 

 

 

---