Virginia High Schools Defy Radical Virginia Democrats—Will Protect Female Athletes

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) initially vocalized its defiance of President Trump and said it would continue to allow boys to compete in girls' sports, but quickly changed its tune.

Prior to President Trump's Feb. 5th executive order that requires schools to align their sports team based on biological sex, the VHSL permitted transgender athletes to compete on high school sports team based on their chosen gender identity. In other words, boys could choose to play on girls' sports teams and vice versa. Individual school districts could prohibit this practice on their own teams but would have been forced to play against an opponent with a mixed gender team or forfeit a game.

Trump's executive order rescinds "all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy."

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the governing board for Virginia public high school athletics. They have an executive board comprised of representatives from member school districts along with voting members from the state Department of Education, the Virginia School Boards Association, the PTA, and two members from the General Assembly. This governing board controls the policies of the league.

On Feb. 7th, the VHSL told WVEC News that its policy would remain unchanged—signaling that it was defying President Trumps order. Public schools in Virginia use taxpayer money to fund their participation in the VHSL and many districts have voting representation on the VHSL board.

The VHSL buckled under public pressure and reversed course on Feb 10th, voting to abide by Trump's executive order "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." 

Another big win for Republicans and for girls!

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Virginia Democrats Oppose the Protection of Girls

Even though Virginia has a Republican governor, radical Democrats still control the state legislature. This November, Republicans have an opportunity to take back control from extremist Democrats in the House of Delegates and retain the executive branch. Otherwise, Democrats will continue to risk the safety of girls and take away the Title IX opportunities they have fought hard to attain.

Terry Schilling, President of the American Principles Project, told Restoration News, "Apparently Democrats still haven't gotten the message from last November's election—the American people are done with Left wing gender insanity. Winsome Sears and Jason Miyares are the future of Virginia and their elections will be a lot easier to win if Democrats keep pushing this nonsense." Sears and Miyares are Republican candidates for Virginia Governor and Attorney General, respectively, in the November election.

In 2023, Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat Gubernatorial candidate, voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act when she was in Congress. She also opposed Gov. Youngkin's model policies enacted in 2023 that requires athletic participation to be separated by sex.

Spanberger failed to respond to a Restoration News inquiry about her stance on biological boys competing against girls. She commented to other outlets that the VHSL should determine the appropriate rules on the matter. Spanberger can't hide from the radical Democrats she aligns herself with because Virginia Democrats don't support the idea that girls' need to be protected.

Virginia Senate Democrats recently killed a Republican bill that would have enshrined into state law a prohibition on biological boys participating in girls' sports. If Spanberger cared about protecting girls, she would speak against this legislation, but she won't. She can no longer claim to be a moderate after aligning with such a radical party. If elected to the governorship, Spanberger no doubt would sign into law the Democrat's radical agenda.

Republicans Stand Up for Girls' Sports

Prior to the VHSL agreeing to prohibit boys in girls' sports, Republican politicians across the Commonwealth endorsed President Trump's actions to protect girls' sports. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the VHSL "must change course immediately." Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears reiterated Youngkin's statement and said, "every female athlete deserves a level playing field—this is non-negotiable."

There is a clear distinction among political parties regarding who is willing to protect the safety of young girls. Democrats want to obliterate Title IX while Republicans fight to defend these civil liberties.

(READ MORE: From Virginia to California, the DEI Crisis of Incompetence Runs Coast-to-Coast)