Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin failed to directly answer Sunday when asked if she believes biological men should participate in women’s sports after NBC News host Kristen Welker questioned her on the issue.
In the release of his first podcast episode, Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated Thursday it was “deeply unfair” to have biological men participating in women’s sports, drawing backlash from members of his own party. After playing a clip of Newsom’s statement for Slotkin on “Meet the Press,” Welker asked the senator if she agreed with the California governor’s stance.
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“Well, look, I think you’ll have to talk to Mr. Newsom and his podcast, and we’re all talking about it now because it’s good controversy. For me, I grew up playing three seasons of sports. In Michigan, sports is like our religion, right? I wouldn’t be here, I think, without the leadership training that I got in women’s sports,” Slotkin said.
“But for me, it’s like, let the local community figure this out, right? In Michigan, we have a process in place where if someone who’s born a boy wants to play in women’s sports, you have to get a waiver,” Slotkin added. We’ve had it happen two times in our entire state.”
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Since the release of Newsom’s first episode, Democrats in his own state have criticized his statement, with the California Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus issuing a joint statement from Assemblymember Chris Ward and state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, saying they were “profoundly sickened and frustrated” by the remarks.
Despite the governor’s statement, his track record shows he has supported pushing for transgender rights in his state, backing policies such as allowing men in women’s prisons and permitting schools to privately transition children without parents’ knowledge or consent.
Slotkin went on to advocate that the issue of biological men playing in women’s sports should be decided at the local level, stating the topic was raised “to make sparks fly.”
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“So let the local communities, just like everything with schools, handle that issue. For me, though, I think this issue is being sort of brought up in order to make sparks and see sparks fly,” Slotkin concluded.
Democrats have continued to push back on banning biological men from women’s sports, with the party’s senators blocking the GOP’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on March 3, voting 51 to 45 along party lines and killing a cloture vote on the bill. In a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, however, 69% of Americans surveyed said they support “banning men who have undergone operations and hormones to become women from girls’ sports,” with 50% Democrat supporting.
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