Three More States Pass Bills to Save Women’s Sports — Two Ready for Governors’ Signatures

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) announced that three more states have advanced bills that ban biological males from competing against women and girls in sports. The bill in Montana awaits a final vote, while the bills in Kansas and West Virginia have been sent to the governors.

“Allowing males to compete in girls’ sports destroys fair competition and women’s athletic opportunities,” ADF lawyer Christiana Holcomb said. “We have seen an increasing number of males dominating girls’ athletic contests when competing as females around the country, capturing championships and shattering long-standing female track records. That’s why several states—including Idaho, Mississippi, and Arkansas—have already enacted legislation that protects women’s sports. These bills complement Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination against women and ensures they have a fair and level playing field with biological males. We commend the legislatures of West Virginia, Kansas, and Montana for joining the national coalition taking a stand for the rights of women and girls—including collegiate athletes—and standing up to bullying from corporate interests willing to throw them under the bus. We urge the governors of these three states to sign these urgently needed bills into law.”

As of this writing, 32 states are trying to protect fair competition for women in sports. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves last month signed the Mississippi Fairness Act into law. Idaho led the charge in 2020 when Governor Brad Little signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act into law. A federal judge blocked the law, contending it is likely unconstitutional.

Earlier this month, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem refused to sign a similar measure that the GOP-majority legislature sent her. She returned the bill and asked lawmakers to make changes. She said the bill was “vague and overly broad language” and “could have significant unintended consequences.” After lawmakers refused to make changes, Gov. Noem signed two executive orders that barred biological males from competing with women and girls in sports.

The NCAA, which requires men who want to compete against women to take testosterone-suppression drugs for at least a year, recently announced that it will boycott states that don’t allow biological men to compete with women.

The NCAA has a long-standing policy that provides a more inclusive path for transgender participation in college sports. Our approach — which requires testosterone suppression treatment for transgender women to compete in women’s sports — embraces the evolving science on this issue and is anchored in participation policies of both the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport. Our clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine released a study which concluded that even after taking these drugs for a year, biological males still outperformed biological females.