A Republican senator’s opinion column about keeping biological males out of women’s sports was removed from USA Today’s network of newspapers because of his “loaded language.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) learned that a column he wrote about protecting women’s sports had been removed from several USA Today Network newspapers because of “inflammatory” language out of the paper’s editorial standards, Fox News reported Friday. Kennedy told the outlet that he was not aware that the column had been removed until he was informed of broken links to the article.
Kennedy told Fox that the “USA TODAY Network apparently does not like the way I express myself.”
“They think they are the speech police. Drunk on certainty and virtue, they think they are our moral teacher. This attitude is why so many Americans have lost confidence in the media. The media is not going to win that trust back until they return to neutrality instead of advocacy,” he added.
The article, titled “Is transgender inclusion more important than women’s sports?” had been published on May 11 by several Louisiana-based papers owned by Gannett, the parent company of USA Today.
“Men and women don’t compete for the same reasons,” the Republican senator said in his column. “Yet transgender activists want athletic institutions to ignore these obvious physical differences so transgender athletes can feel included, even if it hurts biological girls in the process.”
Gannett Opinion Editor and Vice President of Standards and Ethics Michael McCarter said that Kennedy’s column did not meet the company’s “ethical standard” and that he had been given a chance to “revise his language.”
“We recognize the importance of sharing varying perspectives and the vital role we play convening conversations,” McCarter said. “Sen. John Kennedy’s submitted opinion column did not meet our ethical guidelines, which state we will treat people with respect. After further review, our editorial team removed the column from our website. Sen. Kennedy has been given the opportunity to revise his language – not his viewpoint – to adhere with our standards.”
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According to emails with the executive editor of the Shreveport Times, a USA Today Network newspaper, Kennedy’s use of the terms “biological male,” and “biological female,” were “loaded terms” outside of the outlet’s editorial standards. The outlet also took issue with Kennedy saying that men competing against women in sports was similar to NBA star Zion Williamson playing against middle school boys.
