On June 24, 2021, the Ohio House of Representatives passed Senate Bill (SB) 187, legislation that would allow college athletes in Ohio to be compensated for the use of their image and likeness, after majority Republicans added an amendment that bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.
The addition of the amendment sharply divided the chamber and led to the failure of SB 187’s emergency clause. John Fortney, a spokesman for Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said the Senate would not take up the amendment, saying it needs to work its way through the hearing process. Assuming the Senate fails to concur with House changes, the bill would go to a House-Senate conference committee where differences between the two versions of the bill would need to be ironed out.
Representative Jena Powell (R-Arcanum), the sponsor of House Bill (HB) 61, which contains similar language barring transgendered youth from participating in girls’ sports, moved the amendment, saying that it is important to uphold the integrity of girls’ and women’s sports in Ohio. She said biological women have differences from transgendered women, and those differences need to be recognized.
Democrats loudly objected while Powell spoke on the amendment, with some pounding on their desks and Representative Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood) yelling that the motion was “unfair.”
Rep. Skindell called the amendment “one of the biggest political attacks on transgender” people in the nation, saying it harms the ability of all youth to participate and benefit from youth athletics. He said the amendment “displays fundamental ignorance about transgender people.”
HB 61 was introduced in February and has had two hearings. No hearing has been held for opponent testimony. Organizations including the Olympics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) have established rules to address transgender athletes.
On June 25, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine weighed in on the legislative debate regarding transgender provisions added in the House saying, “This issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the OHSAA, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions.”