(HorizonPost.com) – An op-ed by Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy was quietly removed from the Gannett-owned Louisiana papers just days after it was published due to its “loaded language.”
Kennedy wrote an op-ed for the Shreveport Times and seven other Gannett-owned papers in the state arguing against allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports.
The op-ed was published on May 11 but quietly pulled several days later due to its alleged “loaded language.” Gannett, which owns USA Today, argued that Kennedy could not use the term “biological male” when discussing the physical differences between men and women.
The senator’s office was not informed that the op-ed was removed, nor did Gannett notify readers that it had been pulled. Instead, the link to the op-ed was replaced with a “404” error message.
Senator Kennedy’s office contacted the Shreveport Times on May 14 to ask about the “404” message. A week later, Gannett notified the senator’s office that the op-ed was removed due to its “loaded language” that included the term “biological male.”
Kennedy told Fox News in a statement that Gannett did not “like the way I express myself.” Calling Gannett “the speech police,” Kennedy accused the publishing company of thinking “they are our moral teacher,” which he said was an example of why Americans have lost confidence in the news media.
Kennedy called on the news media to abandon advocacy and “return to neutrality.” He said most Americans oppose allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports and conceded that some people may not oppose it. He suggested that Gannett should report both sides of the debate rather than silencing the side “it disagrees with.”
National Review Online stepped in and published Kennedy’s op-ed last Tuesday.
In his op-ed, Kennedy praised the Louisiana legislature for passing the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which bars biological boys from competing in girls’ sports or sharing locker rooms with girls.
Kennedy also called on Congress to follow the state’s lead and “do more to protect” women’s sports from what he described as “a social experiment that is already proving to be unwise.”
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