Ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports in Georgia nears the finish line 

Sen. Greg Dolezal, R- Cumming, on Crossover Day at the Georgia State Capitol on March 6, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Charlie Essers / Charlie Essers

A Senate bill aimed at barring transgender girls from playing on girls’ school sports teams passed a significant milestone toward becoming law Tuesday when it moved through a House committee on a party-line vote.

Cumming Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal’s Senate Bill 1 bars students who were designated male at birth from playing on teams for girls or women from K-12 through college in public and private schools. It also imposes gender-based restrictions on locker rooms, changing facilities and restrooms, with carve-outs for medical or training personnel at certain times.

“We recognize both biologically, anecdotally, and statistically, that there’s an inherent male advantage when it comes to sports and we want to create a boundary around female sport that excludes that male advantage from being in female sport,” Dolezal said.