Washington DC - Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and dozens more professional, Olympic, and Paralympic athletes signed a letter on Monday urging US lawmakers to reject a bill that would bar transgender and intersex girls and women from sports participation.

"As professional, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, we have dedicated our lives to sports. Sports have given us our greatest friends, taught us incredible life lessons, and given us the confidence and drive to succeed in the world. Those of us who love sport know that its value goes far beyond the playing field, to developing a sense of self and identity, and reflecting what we value as a community," the letter opens.

"Every single child should have access to the lifesaving power of sports," it adds.

The letter, organized by the non-profit Athlete Ally, takes a stand against the anti-trans bill HR 734, introduced in Congress in February. The Republican-sponsored legislation, known as the "Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act," seeks to make a sports ban for transgender and intersex girls and women necessary for Title IX compliance.

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Last week, President Joe Biden proposed a new Title IX provision that would prevent blanket bans on trans athletes, but still allow them on a case-by-case basis. The announcement came amid a growing wave of Republican efforts to restrict transgender students from participating on school sports teams in accordance with their gender identity.

Now, 40 top athletes from a range of sports, including soccer, rugby, rowing, and more, are pushing lawmakers to do more to protect LGBTQIA+ youth access to sports.

The athletes behind the letter are urging members of Congress to get their priorities straight if they really want to protect women and girls in sports.

"If this bill passes, transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities," they wrote. "Furthermore, the policing of who can and cannot play school sports will very likely lead to the policing of the bodies of all girls, including cisgender girls."

"We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few," the athletes continued in their missive.

"Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law."