RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia High School League (VHSL) announced this week it will comply with President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender girls from participating in girls' sports.
Previously, the league adhered to its 2014 policy, which allowed transgender students to appeal to play sports that matched their gender identity.
A week ago, VHSL stated it wouldn't deviate from this policy.
However, Executive Director Billy Haun clarified that after reviewing the language of the Feb. 5 order and consulting with lawyers and some of its 317 member schools, VHSL decided to comply with the executive order.
"We felt like we needed to do this," Haun said. "When you start talking about a loss of federal funds and a Title IX violation, then, yeah, that's a pretty tough situation to put a school division into."
President Trump's order threatens schools with a loss of federal funding if they do not comply.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who attended the president's signing ceremony last week, applauded VHSL's decision on social media.
"Common sense wins! Today, the governing bodies for Virginia's public and private high school athletics announced they would follow President Trump's EO to protect girls sports," Youngkin wrote on X Monday.
Republican State Sen. Tammy Mulchi, who had carried now-failed legislation at this year's General Assembly, expressed her approval as well.
"I'm very happy that they made that decision to follow the president's executive order," said Sen. Tammy Mulchi (R-Mecklenburg). "The issue is safety, and the issue is fairness. Regardless if it's just one student or 100 students, it's a fair policy. It's a common-sense issue."
The decision has faced criticism from Democrats, including state Sen. Mamie Locke, who commented on VHSL's abrupt policy reversal.
"All of a sudden you want to reverse it because of an executive order coming out of D.C., made absolutely no sense to me," said Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton). "All of a sudden you want to drink the Kool-Aid."
Haun clarified that the new policy will not apply to transgender boys looking to play boys' sports, a group that includes at most 20 students across the state.
He refrained from specifying the current number of transgender girls affected by the change to avoid identifying individuals but noted that since 2022, only nine transgender girls had been approved to play in VHSL.
"But, again, you actually consider how many of those have graduated and possibly some may not be playing sports anymore," Haun added.
When asked what might occur if the executive order is challenged in court and paused by a judge, Haun indicated it was too early to predict their response, stating they would have to review the judge's order at that time.
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