The governing body for high school athletics in the Commonwealth of Virginia says they will defy President Trump’s Executive Order banning men from competing in women’s sports.
“The war on women’s sports is over,” Mr. Trump declared at a White House event celebrating the mandate. “My Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” mandates that Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in schools, be interpreted as prohibiting the participation of transgender girls and women in female sports. Those not in compliance jeopardize any federal funding they receive, Trump said.
But the Virginia High School League (VHSL) announced that it would not be obeying President Trump’s orders and would continue to allow transgender women to play on women’s high school sports teams.
“We have not seen or received anything regarding the Executive Order,” Mike McCall, the VHSL’s director of communications, told television station WRIC. “We will continue following the current policy and the current law in Virginia.”
Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), a former Navy helicopter pilot and a mom to four children, blasted the VHSL.
“Virginia’s girls deserve better than this,” the congresswoman wrote on X. “They are deliberately choosing to ignore that 80 percent of Americans agree on this issue. This is UNACCEPTABLE!”