Safeguarding the Dream for the Next Generation

By Suzanne Rampe

I had a dream so deeply embedded in who I was that it became part of every piece of me.

I know there are so many girls out there who have that same kind of dream today.

Mine was to be an Olympian.

Suzanne Rampe 1979

The Dream

My father was a Golden Gloves boxer, so I understood from a young age what it meant to achieve something athletically.

He passed away when I was eight, and I wasn’t living out his mission. It was mine.

But for some reason, I believe I was touched with the same drive he had — that desire for greatness.

I could have been an Olympian, but it ended up being in a sport that did not mean anything to me.

After college volleyball was over, I was invited to try out for the Olympic handball team. I was excelling.

It had speed, agility, a ball, a court, and a goal. I had played years of soccer on All-Star teams, so in many ways, it was an easy transition.

But by then, something had changed in me as an athlete.

I was no longer little Susie playing just for the love and fun of the game.

I had become an athletic machine.

They wanted me.

They wanted me to start.

It’s almost funny to say that my dream was to be an Olympian, and yet when the opportunity came so easily, when I could walk into the room and be wanted, it didn’t mean anything to me.

If the sport itself doesn’t mean anything to you, then achieving something in it does not feel the same.

The Unwritten Rule

When I played sports with men, there was always an unwritten rule when it came to contact with women.

That is not what I see happening today.

Today, we have situations where someone may still have the biological advantages of a man, but identifies as a woman. In their heart and mind, they are a woman. I understand that.

But the physical advantage is still there.

The strength, the muscle, the speed, the power, those things do not simply disappear.

And that is where I believe the rules are being broken.

When I grew up, there was still a sense of chivalry in sports.

A Moment I Never Forgot

I remember playing mixed doubles beach volleyball with Gary Hooper.

My partner was Fred Zuliech, and these were not just casual players. These were some of the best men in the world of volleyball.

Debbie Fromme was on the other side as Gary’s partner.

Debbie set a ball 50-50 on the net, which means it was half on my side and half on their side.

Fred was toward the back of the court ready to dig the ball, and normally no man would ever hit at me.

This photo has been enhanced with AI to help show what mixed doubles beach volleyball looked like during that era. Photos of mixed doubles from back then are rare, and I was unable to locate one that captured the scene accurately. Gary hitting the ball was taken from an original image, and Fred blocking was also taken from an original image. The woman was created with AI and placed in a typical mixed-doubles position to help represent what the game would have looked like at that time.

But Gary jumped up and swung as hard as he could.

He didn’t have control over where the ball was going. It was just the natural reaction of an elite athlete going after a 50-50 ball.

The ball came straight down and hit me on the leg so hard that I had the lines of the volleyball imprinted on my skin for a week.

The crowd reacted immediately.

Back then, the crowd was all around us because we were the elite players.

Gary’s face said everything. He was mortified.

He ran under the net to make sure I was okay, apologizing and checking on me.

I was fine. It hit my leg, not my face.

But that moment showed the difference in how we played back then.

No one on the other side, especially a man who was extremely strong compared to a woman, would intentionally do something that put her in danger.

That is what feels different now.

Why Women’s Sports Matter

Before the AVP, we played for the love of the sport.

That was it.

We wanted to compete because we loved it.

Playing beach volleyball wasn’t about gaining scholarships or opportunities the way it is today.

Women’s sports now have value and opportunity, and that is a beautiful thing.

But that is also why it matters so much to protect them.

Some people say, “Well, there are only one or two cases here or there.”

But I do not believe it will stay that way.

When I was playing youth baseball, there were only three of us girls in the whole area.

Just three.

Maybe that seemed like only “one here or there” back then.

But look how many girls are playing now.

That growth is amazing. And I believe the same thing could happen with men entering women’s sports under the category of gender identity.

It may seem small now, but in my opinion, it will not stay small.

The Biological Advantage

I know this is a sensitive issue.

I understand that people identify in different ways.

But I am talking about biological advantage.

Someone who goes through male puberty can retain physical advantages even after

transitioning.

They can still have muscle mass, strength, speed, jumping ability, and fast-twitch muscle advantages that a biological female would not have in the same way.

A woman can train her fast-twitch muscles all day long, but if a male athlete developed those advantages through puberty and then transitions, those advantages can still remain.

That person will jump higher, hit harder, move faster, or have more power.

And that is what concerns me.

Why I Am Speaking Up

I am speaking up because I want girls and women to have the same advantages under Title IX that I had.

I know what it is like to not have those opportunities.

I was not allowed to play soccer when I was seven because I was a girl.

I was an athlete before Title IX, during its transition, and then when everyone accepted it as the norm.

Yes, I could still play a sport for the love of the sport before Title IX.

I could grab a surfboard, run into the ocean, and surf.

I could run if I wanted to.

But that was not the same as having true opportunity.

There were no women’s soccer teams for me.

There were no women’s water polo teams.

There were very few women’s teams at all, and none in my area.

Opportunities were limited for me and the girls I grew up with, but opportunities are not limited for transgender athletes. They have the option to compete with athletes of similar physical ability.

Title IX changed opportunities for women like me.

And now I feel a responsibility to help safeguard those opportunities for the next generation of girls and women.

Why Moms for Liberty Nevada Is Leading This Mission

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