Trump Administration Sues Maine Over Transgender Inclusion In Sports

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Will Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers during a meet against the Brown Bears at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on November 16, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The Trump administration is suing Maine over its refusal to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports. The administration also recently threatened to withhold funds from Maine’s public education programs based on alleged violations of Title IX, citing transgender athletes who won first place in pole vault and a women’s 5 K.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which spurred conflict throughout the sporting world. The NCAA restricted transgender athletes from competing, but refused to mandate sex testing, which prompted a Texas lawsuit. Now, Maine has become the latest dissident, refusing to uphold the ban, which it says conflicts with its local human rights laws.

“This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law,” said Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills (D).

Mills and the Republican administration have had a very public standoff over the past month over the issue, culminating in a clash where she told the President, “We’ll see you in court.” Maine successfully sued the federal government earlier this month to prevent the retaliatory withholding of funds from a school nutrition program.

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However, the primary issue – the legality of banning transgender athletes in the first place – remains to be litigated. Multiple challenges to the President’s executive order remain in courts, and some states, with Maine foremost among them, are refusing to implement it altogether.

“Pretty simple,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said of the administration’s stance. “Girls play in girls’ sports, boys play in boys’ sports. Women play in women’s sports, men play in men’s sports.”

There are just two transgender athletes competing in Maine schools. A decision in the case will determine not just their fates, but those of transgender youth and young adults across the nation.