By Steve Williams

As the father of three daughters — including one who earned a track scholarship to UC Berkeley — I’ve seen firsthand what it looks like when a young woman sacrifices everything to chase a dream. I know what it sounds like when she doubts herself, what it feels like to sit in the stands holding your breath at the starting line, and what it means when she finally breaks through.

My daughter didn’t come into high school as a track star. She was a soccer player. I made her join the track team to stay in shape. She told everyone, “Track’s not my thing.” But what started as conditioning became a calling.

She became league champion in the 100m and 200m, earned MVP as a freshman, and anchored the varsity 4x1 relay as a sophomore. As a senior, she ran a blistering 11.70 in the 100m — ranking 5th in California and 35th in the nation. She beat athletes committed to major Division 1 programs, reached the State Finals, and left high school as the fastest girl her school had ever produced. Her achievements earned her a track scholarship to Cal. While at Cal, she posted the third-fastest 60m dash time in school history, earned U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association All-Academic honors, and was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.

None of it came easy. She battled through injuries, illness, and setbacks. There were moments she thought her season — and dream — were over. But she never gave up. She trained when others rested. She cried after tough races — but always showed up the next day. And when she broke through, she earned every hundredth of a second.

That’s why the recent events at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Finals and Masters meets this month hit so close to home. At the CIF Southern Section Finals, high school senior Katie McGuinness of La Cañada High School jumped a personal best of 18 feet, 9 inches — an impressive mark by any standard. Yet she placed second to a transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High.

McGuinness voiced her disappointment, stating, "There are just certain genetic advantages that biological males have that biological girls don't." Similarly, in the triple jump, Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School set a school record but also finished behind the same athlete. Afterward, Hogan stood atop the first-place podium alone — a silent but powerful statement in defense of fairness. These weren’t just symbolic moments — they were stark reminders that policy decisions are now altering the futures of young women.

Just days after the CIF Southern Section Masters meet — and amid national scrutiny, including from President Donald Trump — CIF announced a new pilot rule allowing additional at-large athletes to advance to State Championships.

CIF officials claim the change had been under consideration prior to Trump’s threat to withhold federal funding over fairness in girls’ sports, but the timing has drawn national attention. While CIF says the policy is intended to broaden participation, many families, athletes, and coaches see it as a quiet admission that the current rules are failing — especially for biological girls who are being edged out of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t about attacking individuals. It’s about defending something worth protecting: fairness in women’s sports.

We need policies at every level — from CIF to NCAA — that preserve fairness by requiring biological sex-based divisions. Compassion and science can coexist, but only if we stop pretending that performance is divorced from physiology.

As the parent of a former high school athlete who lived and breathed track, I can’t stay silent while young women are pushed to the sidelines of their own sport. These girls aren’t bigots. They’re competitors. They’re asking for the same shot every athlete deserves. They train just like my daughter did, fighting through injuries, and trying to make the most of the short window they have to prove themselves.

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Biological sex differences matter in athletics. We know this. We build separate boys’ and girls’ divisions because of it. And when we ignore that biological reality in the name of ideology, it’s not inclusive — it’s unfair. Worse, it comes at the direct expense of the very girls Title IX was created to empower.

Katie McGuinness deserved better. So did Reese Hogan. And so do the thousands of girls like them — past, present, and future — who train relentlessly and earn their place on the podium. These young women weren’t asking for special treatment — just fairness. Instead, they were asked to accept a system that ignores science and costs them the recognition and opportunities they earned.

My daughter didn’t ask for special treatment. She competed on a level playing field and proved herself against the best, fair and square. She can look back at her track career with pride because she knows what it took to win — and that it was an honest race.

I wish today’s girls could say the same.

This is not about hate. It’s about truth. It’s about standing up for girls who work their whole lives to get one shot at a title, a scholarship, or a school record — and are now being told that if they object, they’re the problem.

We need real courage right now — not to tear anyone down, but to stand firm in protecting what’s right. We need to find compassionate solutions that honor every person’s dignity — but that starts with not erasing the boundaries that make women’s sports what they are. We can care about inclusion without surrendering fairness. We can support trans youth without sacrificing the hard-earned dreams of young women.

I watched my daughter become a champion. And now I’m watching today’s girls lose what she fought for. If we don’t have the courage to speak up, then we don’t deserve the pride we feel when our daughters succeed.

The finish line should always reflect effort, discipline, and integrity — not political agendas. That’s what fairness demands. And that’s what every young woman deserves.

 Steve Williams is a seasoned technology, real estate, and land use professional and an Executive Board member of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/SteveAWilliamsX

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