Girls' sports, kept for girls

In July 2025 the University of Pennsylvania agreed to do something unusual: write a personal apology letter to each female swimmer who had lost to Lia Thomas, an athlete born male who won an NCAA Division I women's title in 2022. Penn also agreed to restore the records and titles those women had lost.

Every high school wrestling meet starts at a scale. A 106-pound freshman does not wrestle the 285-pound heavyweight, and nobody calls that an insult to the heavyweight. Weight classes are not a judgment about anyone's worth. They exist because size changes the outcome, and a match is only worth winning if both kids had a fair shot.

Sex changes the outcome in sports too, which is why girls' teams exist at all. Title IX, the 1972 law against sex discrimination in schools, made room for them. In recent years some schools and leagues began letting athletes born male compete on girls' and women's teams. President Trump's executive order of February 5, 2025, set federal policy the other way and told schools that forcing girls to compete against males could cost them federal funding.

One rule after another

The NCAA moved the next day. On February 6, 2025, it limited women's competition to athletes assigned female at birth, a rule covering more than 500,000 athletes at about 1,100 schools. NCAA President Charlie Baker said the President's order "provides a clear, national standard." Athletes born male can still practice with women's teams and compete on men's teams.

Penn's agreement settled a federal Title IX case. In March 2026 the International Olympic Committee, which the order had told the State Department to press, limited the women's category to biological females starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Then the Supreme Court settled the biggest question. On June 30, 2026, in cases from Idaho and West Virginia, the Court ruled 6-3 that states may limit girls' and women's teams to biological females without violating the Constitution. Even the dissent agreed the Title IX challenge failed. Twenty-seven states have such laws. On September 28, the Education Department formally removed the Biden administration's 2024 Title IX rule from the books and reinstated the 2020 rule it had enforced since early 2025.

Scale and kindness

Baker once said he knew of only about 10 transgender athletes in the entire NCAA, and the students at the center of these cases are young people who deserve dignity. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said as much: transgender students should not be "ostracized or vilified." I agree with him.

But a fair rule does not depend on how often it is tested. A bracket with one mismatched bout is still unfair to the kid in that bout. For the swimmer who lost a title, or the girl who missed a final by one place, the number that matters is one.

The question is settled for college sports and for the 27 states with laws. The other 23 are a different matter: the Court said states may keep girls' sports for girls, not that they must. In September a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's suit against California's policy, ruling that the state had not been given clear notice its funding was at stake, and the department is weighing an appeal.

So find out which list your state is on. If it is one of the 27, the scale is already at the door. If it is not, the decision now sits with your state legislature, and a call to your state representative carries real weight. Weight classes never insulted anyone. They just let every kid step on the mat with a fair shot.