Roanoke College women's swim team endorses Trump amid promise to protect women's sports
Seven members of the Roanoke College women’s swim team endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election because of his vow to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
Trump held a rally in Salem, Virginia, on Saturday, three days before the 2024 election. The Republican nominee is facing off against Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States.
At the event, Trump promised to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
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“Last year, the radical Left’s gender insanity arrived right here in Salem when a man was allowed to transfer onto the Roanoke College women’s swim team,” Trump said.
After praising members of the Salem-based school’s women’s swim team for standing up to “the transgender fanatics” and noting how he got to meet them backstage, Trump invited the athletes on stage.
The female athletes wore pink T-shirts that read “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports.” An image of a hot dog replaced the word “men.”
“As female athletes, we know that men have an inherent advantage over women in sports,” said team captain Lily Mullens at the event. “Due to current policies, though, men are competing against women of all ages in all sports.”
After the crowd erupted into boos, Mullens detailed how Harris had pushed for “this anti-woman, sex-based discrimination to continue all over this country.” Mullens then thanked Trump for “standing with women and promising to protect the rights of all of us.”
“We are so lucky to have a leader like Donald Trump with common sense who knows what a strong woman is and will fight for generations of girls to come,” she added.
After Mullens finished speaking, each of the seven members of the swim team at the rally introduced themselves before they exited the stage.
Roanoke College President Frank Shushok released a statement after the rally stressing that the athletes “represent only their individual points of view,” adding, “The college was unaware of their participation.” Shushok acknowledged that the swimmers “exercised their right to free expression” by attending the event.
“In this moment, we can turn against each other and ignite division, thereby adding to the bounty of suffering already too prevalent in our world. However, in my time at Roanoke College, I’ve been inspired by what I’ve seen repeatedly: People who take the road less traveled and aspire to the highest virtues of love, humility, respect and kindness. This is who we are at Roanoke College, and this is why, as an affiliated member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we are rooted and open,” he added.
The Roanoke College women’s swim team first drew national attention last year when its members held a press conference expressing concern about the college allowing a trans-identified male athlete to compete on the team. As the controversy generated headlines, Roanoke College issued a statement indicating that the trans-identified athlete withdrew his request to compete on the team.
Concerns about trans-identified males participating in women’s sports have loomed large in women’s swimming after trans-identified male athlete Lia (Will) Thomas broke women’s swimming records after joining the women’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania. Thomas had previously competed for three years on the men’s swimming team.
High-profile examples of trans-identified male athletes dominating women’s sports, combined with the biological differences between men and women identified by USA Powerlifting as “including but not limited to increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue,” have led several states to implement laws or regulations requiring athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex as opposed to their self-declared gender identity.
The 26 states that have taken this course of action include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Under the Biden administration, in which Harris serves as vice president, the U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance interpreting the ban on sex discrimination in Title IX to also apply to sexual orientation and gender identity, which critics have warned could force schools to allow trans-identified males to compete in women’s sports as a condition of receiving federal funding. On the other hand, Trump has made his intention to pursue federal action to “keep men out of women’s sports” clear as early as 2023.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
