Virginia’s high school sports governing body to comply with Trump’s ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ order

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) made headlines on Monday after announcing its decision to bring its league in compliance with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” This executive order, signed by Trump on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, aims to prevent biological men from competing in girls and women’s sports.

The VHSL, which oversees high school sports in the state of Virginia, will implement this executive order immediately. John W. Haun, the Executive Director of VHSL, stated, “The VHSL is an association comprising 318 member schools with more than 177,000 students participating yearly in sports and academic activities. The VHSL is the governing body, and our member schools look to and rely on the VHSL for policy and guidance. To that end, the VHSL will comply with the Executive Order.”

In response to this decision, the VHSL executive committee has directed staff to propose policy changes through emergency legislation to align with the executive order. These changes will be reflected in the league’s policy manual.

President Trump emphasized the importance of this executive order, stating, “This doesn’t have to be long. It’s all about common sense. Women’s sports will be only for women.” He declared that “The war on women’s sports is over” and emphasized his commitment to protecting the integrity of women’s sports.

Following Trump’s executive order, the NCAA also announced a ban on transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The policy now prohibits a student-athlete assigned male at birth from competing on a women’s team. However, biological females are still allowed to compete in men’s sports.

Independent Women ambassadors were present at the signing of the executive order, including Riley Gaines, who hosts OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast. Gaines has been a vocal advocate for fairness in women’s sports, particularly in response to her experience competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that the executive order upholds the promise of Title IX and aims to protect the safety of athletes and maintain competitive integrity. She also urged the Senate to pass the Protection of Women and Girls Sports Act, which would further solidify regulations regarding biological males participating in girls’ school sports teams.

Despite Virginia voting blue in the 2024 presidential election, with 52.1% of votes going to former Vice President Kamala Harris, the VHSL’s compliance with Trump’s executive order demonstrates a commitment to upholding the values of women’s sports. This decision aligns with the broader national effort to ensure fairness and equality in athletic competition.