Woman tells Sen. Blackburn her daughter was ‘publicly humiliated and degraded’ by transgender swimmer

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – A mother and leader of an advocacy group told Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn that her daughter was “publicly humiliated and degraded” by a transgender swimmer in an interview provided Thursday to the Daily Caller.

In the senator’s “Unmuted” podcast, Blackburn spoke with the co-founder of the Independent Council On Women’s Sports (ICONS), Kim Jones, as well as Jennifer Sey, CEO of XX-XY Athletics, about girl’s sports.

Both women competed in women’s athletics. Sey was a U.S. national team member gymnast and Jones was an All-American tennis player at Stanford University.

“To watch your daughter be publicly humiliated and degraded by a man because it suits his desires and makes him feel better, there’s no words to express it,” Jones said.

Jones was referring to Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete who formerly competed on the University of Pennsylvania’s swim team. She explained that her organization ICONS was created to defend women’s and girl’s sports.

“My daughter faced something where she didn’t have anyone defending her voice,” Jones said, describing how her daughter was forced to compete against Thomas. “That was a pivotal experience.”

Her daughter spent hours training to compete, but that was “stripped away from her, like it was a joke,” Jones stated.

Blackburn introduced legislation for Oct. 10 to be designated as “American Girls In Sports Day.” Senate Democrats blocked the resolution, according to the senator’s press release.

The senator explained that she chose Oct. 10 because of the date’s Roman numerals: XX or the female sex chromosome.

“In the last 50 years, female athletes have gone from the sidelines to the center stage of competition,” Blackburn stated. “As we continue to fight for women’s participation in sports, we must keep in mind what is at stake — and the ‘American Girls in Sports Day’ resolution will help ensure that happens.”

Sey explained during the podcast why she ultimately left the Democratic Party despite being a “lifelong feminist.”

The party “has lost all sight of right and wrong” by failing to stand up for women’s rights, Sey told Blackburn.

“This isn’t about politics,” she added. “It’s about defending truth.”

In 2023, every House Democrat voted against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” according to the House clerk. The bill would have prohibited males from participating in women’s sports, the Daily Caller reported at the time.

“They are sacrificing girls at the altar of wokeness,” Sey told the senator.