Sen. Moody Pushes Federal Women's Sports Protection Bill at Senate Hearing

Senator Ashley Moody joined female athletes at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday to advocate for federal legislation aimed at restricting transgender athletes from competing in women's sports programs. The hearing, titled "Standing Up for Women in Sports: Ensuring Opportunity, Fairness and Safety for Female Athletes," featured Moody's call for what she characterized as fairness and safety in women's athletics.

"Male athletes have no business competing in women's sports, and it's mindboggling that in 2026 we must pass legislation to protect meaningful opportunity for girls to compete," Moody said, according to her office. The Florida senator is a cosponsor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, which would generally prohibit school athletic programs from allowing individuals assigned male at birth to participate in women's and girls' programs.

Moody's push at the federal level builds on her previous work in Florida. As the state's attorney general, she led a multistate legal challenge to the Biden administration's 2024 Title IX regulation changes, arguing they undermined protections for women and girls. Florida itself enacted the Fairness in Women's Sports Act in 2021, which restricts individuals assigned male at birth from participating in sports teams designated for women or girls.

Moody is also a cosponsor of the Title IX Clarification Act of 2026, which would define sex under Title IX as biological sex and clarify that gender identity does not change that classification. The legislation reflects an ongoing national debate over transgender athlete participation in school sports.