On issue after issue, it seems more and more like it’s not just right versus left or conservative versus liberal; it’s common sense versus crazy. Debates are playing out between supporting law enforcement versus defunding the police or securing our borders versus allowing drugs and criminals to freely cross our border. Maybe no issue highlights the crazy we are fighting against better than whether to protect women’s sports or to allow men who claim to be women to play in women’s sports. And Missouri is leading the way on pushing back against this crazy.

I was so proud to see Sophie Cunningham — a Columbia, Missouri basketball star from Rock Bridge High School who attended Mizzou and now plays in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever — becoming the most prominent female athlete to speak out in defense of keeping women’s sports protected for biological women. She’s been relentlessly questioned by the media and even fellow WNBA players and coaches for speaking out, but she refuses to back down. “I said what I said,” she told reporters after being pressed about her views, “and I’ll always believe in that.” That’s the kind of common sense that comes from Missouri.

What’s as remarkable as Sophie speaking out is the fact that there aren’t more female athletes willing to publicly state that same opinion. Sophie has been left to defend her position alone, and no other WNBA player has come to her defense. Worse still, the WNBA appears unable to say that biological men shouldn’t be able to play in their league. How is this possible?!?

While the issue of protecting women’s sports has received renewed attention after Sophie began speaking out, this isn’t a new fight for me. I’ve coauthored the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act multiple times, and I’ve helped lead the fight to get it through the House of Representatives in both this Congress and the previous Congress. Senate Democrats have been siding with their base’s extreme agenda over protecting the rights of women and girls who just want a fair shot at competing in the sports they love, and they have blocked the bill from moving forward both times.

Title IX opened doors for millions of girls across this country, including right here in Missouri, and I’m not going to sit back and watch that progress get thrown to the side to appease a nonsensical political movement. I’m proud that at the state level, Missouri has led the way by ensuring only biological women can compete in women’s sports.

Sophie Cunningham earned her place in Mizzou history by beating the best competition women’s basketball had to offer, and now she’s using her platform to stand up for the girls coming up behind her. Every girl picking up a basketball, a bat, or running track in Missouri or any other state deserves that same fair shot Sophie had. That’s what this fight has always been about, and it’s why I’ll keep pushing for this commonsense legislation until it’s signed into law.