USA Today Yanks Senator’s Op-ed for ‘Loaded Language’ like ‘Biological Male’

“Protecting women and girls in sports doesn’t need to be a partisan issue,” wrote Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) in an op-ed originally published in a variety of Louisiana newspapers. The article outlined several biological differences between men and women, and how those “physical differences give men a significant advantage in athletics, especially at the elite levels.” Kennedy went on to narrow it down to transgenderism in sports and wrote, “Allowing biological boys to compete as girls will harm women’s sports.” In addition to the risk of physical injury, Kennedy emphasized the risk to mental well-being of the women exposed to biological men in locker rooms and bathrooms.

However, the article was removed shortly after being published as the Gannett-owned USA Today Network claimed it didn’t meet their “editorial standards.” In a press release from Kennedy’s office, they noted the piece was removed without warning. Additionally, Fox News reported that “USA Today later said that it had pulled the piece due to its ‘loaded language,’” which included the term, “biological male.” In comment to The Washington Stand, Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, classified “Gannett removing an opinion piece written by a United States Senator from the newspapers read by his constituents” as “something from Orwell’s 1984.”

She argued that, rather than removing the piece, “Gannett/USA Today could have published a piece to counter his arguments.” The outlet shouldn’t have had any trouble finding such a piece since “their coverage of LGBTQ+ issues is usually unquestioning and supportive,” Kilgannon noted. But as Kennedy shared with Fox News, USA Today seems to fancy themselves “the speech police” and “our moral teacher,” adding that they’re “drunk on certainty and virtue.” Ultimately, he emphasized, “This attitude is why so many Americans have lost confidence in the media.”

As Kilgannon emphasized, “The rescinding of the article is just ridiculous. If journalists still care about having a readership that believes them, this is the wrong way to build trust.” However, as recent reports have demonstrated, it appears how the media chooses to portray this issue isn’t discouraging people from speaking out.

A prominent example of this is from Lord Coe, president of World Athletics, which is considered the international “governing authority” in the realm of sports. On Thursday, during a speech at the Hay Festival, Coe conveyed his support for the exclusion of biological males in female events — a decision that gained momentum in March 2023. According to The Daily Mail, Coe believes this separation is “essential to preserve the integrity of the sport.” The World Athletics president stated, “You can’t have a sport where young girls feel there is going to be a biological ceiling beyond which they can’t move.”

If trans-identifying biological men aren’t kept out of women’s sports, he continued, “no woman will win another sporting event, and it is as binary as that.” As explosive as this issue has become, an overwhelming number of people are fighting to protect girls’ sports by pushing to pass legislation and policies keeping biological men out. One such supporter is Kilgannon herself, who was glad to hear of Coe’s public support to protect women’s sports.

“I’m pleased to see World Athletics stand up for women in sports by preserving the women’s category for women,” she shared with TWS. “It’s concerning though when the move to defend segregating sports by sex, which has been accepted as obviously necessary until very recently, is characterized as ‘banning’ men who present themselves as women. Men are not banned from sports, they are simply not allowed to compete in the category for which they do not qualify.”

According to Kilgannon, when “historically conservative publications and … Republican politicians” describe what shouldn’t be allowed in the first place as a “ban,” “we know we still have much work to do to defend women’s sports.”