In 1977, as a high school athlete in Fairfax County, Virginia, I helped petition our school board to fund girls’ cross country and indoor track. Because of Title IX, we succeeded. One year later, as a freshman at the University of Georgia, I was stunned to learn there was no women’s track program. I collaborated with the administration to comply with the law, and by 1979, UGA established a women’s track team. I was honored to serve as its first co-captain.
Title IX opened doors for women like me and for countless others who earned college educations because they were given a fair chance to compete. That law exists for one simple reason: to protect women’s athletic opportunities.
That is why I am deeply disappointed that Senator Jon Ossoff supports policies that allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. This is not progress. It is a direct betrayal of the very protections Title IX was designed to guarantee.
Women fought hard for equal opportunity in athletics. We did not do so only to see those opportunities diminished decades later by elected officials unwilling to defend fairness and common sense. Allowing men to compete in women’s sports undermines safety, erases competitive equity, and tells young female athletes that their hard work comes second.
Senator Ossoff should stand with women—not against the law that made our opportunities possible.
Susie Googe Welsh
Evans, Ga.
University of Georgia graduate 1982 & Varsity Letter Recipient
The 12th Georgia GOP Congressional District is Represented in the US Congress by the Honorable Rick Allen (Augusta) and encompasses 24 counties.
The 12th District is committed to advancing our conservative principles and electing Republican candidates up and down the ballot.
There are many volunteer opportunities within the 12th District, most of which occur at the County level. Please follow the "About" link to contact your local County Chair.