Dads, Protect Your Daughters From Dangerous Male Athletes
By: Zachary Mettler (The Federalist)
It's often said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Of late, too many seemingly good men have done nothing to protect their daughters from transgender-identified athletes competing in girls' sporting events. Let's not mince words. These male athletes are harming and hurting their daughters under the guise of "equality" and "fairness."
Just last week, a Massachusetts high school girls' basketball team forfeited a game after a male on the opposing team injured three female players. The team decided to forfeit because the injured girl's female teammates were afraid of getting hurt themselves.
The girls made the right call, to be sure. But why was it necessary in the first place? And why was it up to teenage girls to make that call?
Last year, also in Massachusetts, a male high school field hockey player, identifying as a girl, hit a ball so hard it knocked out a female player's teeth. Video of the incident shows the female player crumpling to the ground and shrieking as her teammates cover their mouths with their hands and walk around in shock.
Every time I see another story like this — and the number of incidents is surging — I wonder: Where were their fathers? Why have so few fathers, especially after their daughters were injured by a male, stepped forward and said, "Not on my watch"?
Recently, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines shared a similar sentiment, telling Joe Rogan on his podcast, "I thought someone with political power, someone within the NCAA — quite honestly, I thought someone's dad — would come down there and yank this man out of our locker rooms."
Yet it never happened. "I'm standing on the podium, and we're clapping, and we're smiling, and we're cheering, and it hit me, I'm like, what in the world are we clapping for?" she said.
How many injured female athletes will it take for one father to stand up and manfully assert, "Enough is enough. I refuse to let my daughter be physically harmed by a male in her sport."
How far men should go to protect their daughters is a conversation that needs to be had. But to have that conversation, first, men must do something. Anything.
Even when men competing against women doesn't cause female athletes bodily harm, it is no less unjust. In New Jersey, transgender-identified swimmer Megan Cortez-Fields competed for three years on the Ramapo College men's swimming team before switching to the women's team. He's since set school records in the women's 200 Individual Medley.
Over the course of three years in Connecticut, two male athletes broke 17 girls' track meet records, took more than 85 opportunities to advance to the next level of competition, and won 15 women's state track championship titles. It's past time for women to stop paying the price for men taking away their places, their awards, and their health and safety.
Women should not be forced to sacrifice their bodies on the altar of political correctness. It's time for men to do their duty and confront other men — even if those men identify as women. Call a spade a spade and do not apologize for doing so.
Now consider the most vocal advocates for women's sports. Think about those activists who are boldly standing up for truth, common sense, and women's safety. Here's a few: J.K. Rowling, Riley Gaines, Megyn Kelly, Selina Soule, Alanna Smith, Ashley Nicoletti, and Bethany Hamilton.
Notice a pattern? They're all women. And good for them, because the more women who stand up and speak out, the better. But where are the men?
In his book The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis spoke about men who lack conviction and fortitude. "We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise," Lewis wrote. "It is not excess of thought but defect of fertile and generous emotion that marks them out. Their heads are no bigger than the ordinary: it is the atrophy of the chest beneath that makes them seem so."
Such could be said of the state of America's men today. We're too comfortable. We're too apathetic. And we're too nice. We could use a little more righteous indignation from America's men.
Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned, but I was raised to respect and care for women. I know that men are supposed to protect and provide for their families. I refuse to stand idly by as the women of America suffer at the hands of men.
If you're a father who's still reticent to stand up for your daughter, here's a suggestion: Don't go it alone. Join forces with other fathers. The Good Book says, "Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
Courage is contagious. So, fathers of America, the ball is in your court. Your daughters are waiting for you to protect and take care of them. This is your job. This is your responsibility. This is your duty.
Zachary Mettler works as a staff writer and communications liaison for the Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler earned his Bachelor's degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. In addition to the Daily Citizen, his written pieces have appeared in the Daily Wire, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Townhall, the Daily Signal, the Christian Post, Charisma News and other outlets.
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In remembrance: of when men were men!
That comment is divisive. Just wanted to point that out. Also:
So you want men to confront other men. . . as though that has not been done and is being done by MAGAs already! Actually what you want is more political outrage about a culture war issue just in time for an election this fall.
Well, for your information, no man should/would take female hormones just to be in female sports.
That is, these 'men' you hold in remembrance would never scar themselves or risk loss of their manly reputation or endure 'exposure' to mockings, ridicule, and personal injury from MAGAs if they, transmen were not serious about altering their sex and their 'personas.'
With that in mind, it is obvious that MAGAs are simply taking advantage of the status quo to not allow for changes in science that is providing an opening for male athletes to compete in other venues where they are better suited as transpersons.
Of course, the status quo will feature heavily in this discussion (as it should), but science will keep defining/designing and educating people about gender transitioning, and overtime, 'problems' will be solved with the aesthetics and attributes of these men. . . MAGAs are out-front fighting to see that does not happen!
You are correct CB. This is more of that " man in a cave" mentality that is in line with their belief that "it takes a good guy with a gun ......" . Perhaps our school systems would be better off with-out sports programs all-together . It would reduce the cost of public education in more than one way, substantially . Physical education/ Health classes are more than adequate .Public education should not be used to train future pro athletes .
I agree wholeheartedly to how you describe this above. Well said. It is nice for some conservatives to be 'brutish' about masculinity if that is what gets them through the day. . .I mean this sincerely. The issue becomes a problem for us all, when they start defining what is morally right for other males while crouching it in language that is a pretext for protecting women. . . from transsexuals (people who are attempting to find a place in mainstream society for themselves).
There are real-world professional and practical issues with transsexuals in sports, but some conservatives are not seeking solutions as much as they are working to give no true place or "outlet" to transsexual athletes.
As to sports programs. . . I say let's keep them. . .for the good of the youth. Youths need something to aspire to and athletics fix that nicely, in my opinion. I would not wish amateur sports to end anymore than I would wish for school music programs to end. Just fix the problems/issues somehow.
Oh, and take the politics for politics sake or 'cultural warfare' for its own sake out of it.
That remark is uninformed. As I stipulated, and obviously you ignored. . . and went to name-calling, which solves or settles nothing: Men, and I think you can attest to this, would not wish to be "wimpy, "weak," or "screwed up" socially, as the benefits would be negligible and deficit.
These trans-females have the capabilities and talent to be athletes. . . and they seek to match their head to their bodies. . . in order to make it so. The 'task' for science and society is to find an appropriate venue for them to practice. . . and thrive in it. Trying to deny their existence is . . . well, what society/ities across the planet have been doing for centuries. . . and the bodies and suppression has not subsided. . . so science is stepping up to make change real for these persons.
But you go on insisting on what you give no real attention or empathy to, or thought to, while condemning other people chlld/ren to a lifetime of living your ideas of what makes you happy and prosperous in this life.
(shakes head)
I think the social sciences will be able to bring about a certain level of acceptance, and it likely already has on most people's individual levels.
But not even science will be able to change the basics of biology.