A heated fight over transgender athlete participation in Virginia schools is coming to a head this week, as state high school sports leaders prepare to finalize controversial new restrictions — despite mounting pressure from advocates urging them to reconsider.
On Wednesday, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Executive Committee will meet for the first time since voting nearly two months ago to limit competition in girls’ sports to students assigned female at birth, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
Previously, VHSL policy allowed transgender students to compete on teams aligning with their gender identity, though under specific conditions. The expected would formalize changes to the league’s handbook and policy manual.
“It is not too late for the Virginia High School League to find clarity and courage and to return to an inclusive policy that is sound, both ethically and legally,” said Auden Perino, senior counsel for LGBTQI+ equality at the National Women’s Law Center.
Perino said the February decision has caused “emotional harm” to students and their families. While the change impacts only a small number of students, they emphasized that does not make the issue any less important.
The push for the policy change has largely been driven by concerns around fair competition.
In February, Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the committee’s decision “just common sense” after appearing alongside Trump when he signed the executive order threatening to cut federal funds for those that don’t comply.
“Biological boys should not be competing against girls,” Youngkin wrote on social media.
Victoria Cobb, president of the conservative group Family Foundation, said in a statement that it’s “high time” for the Virginia High School League to do right by girls and protect their safety.
“Participation in sports develops girls into confident leaders,” Cobb said. “When girls step away from the arena because biological boys steal their titles and scholarships, everyone loses.”
However, Perino also pointed out that the “real threat” to high school sports is the chronic underfunding of women’s athletics and the widespread, often unreported harassment and assault cases affecting athletes — issues the NWLC has been tracking for over 50 years.
“These are the real threats to girls involved in school sports,” Perino said. “Obviously, trans youth are responsible for creating zero of these problems, and in fact, are harmed by all of them, just like cisgender youth.”
Perino said if Virginians want to address and prevent sex discrimination in women’s school sports, they should focus on these “real and urgent threats where the gender justice movement has correctly maintained its focus, and we see from far right policymakers only a resounding silence on these topics and a truly creepy fixation on the bodies and lives of a few trans girls and women being scapegoated for political gain.”
Other advocates in Virginia are objecting to the changes and hope the committee will reconsider the action taken in February. Some view the vote as a harmful message — one that affects not just transgender athletes but Virginia’s broader reputation, undermining being “fair,” “inclusive,” and providing “opportunity for everyone.”
“Our hope is that maybe there is a world where they would reverse and go back to the original policy, but if anything, we want to send a strong message to them that they’ve made the wrong decision,” said Narissa Rahaman, executive director for Equality Virginia, a LGBTQ rights advocacy group. “This is impacting community members, and it’s going to impact more than just transgender student athletes, who want to play.”
Rahaman said the committee’s February decision overturned a decade-long policy that was working, noting that the league had initially told the Richmond Times-Dispatch it did not plan to make any changes in January.
Since the policy’s establishment, Rahaman said, Virginia has allowed 42 transgender athletes to play on sports teams matching their identity over the past 10 years.
During the last legislative session, bills proposing to require K-12 public schools and higher education institutions to label each sports team as either boys, girls, or coed — based on the biological sex of the players — failed in the General Assembly.
Del. Delores Oates, R-Warren, and Sen. Tammy Mulchi, R-Mecklenburg, who carried the proposals, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Protecting fairness and safety in girls’ sports is a commonsense principle supported by the majority of Virginians,” Oates said in a statement to The Mercury. “I commend the Virginia High School League for taking action to ensure female athletes compete on a level playing field.
This is about preserving the gains made under Title IX — making sure girls have the same opportunities, scholarships, and team experiences that generations fought hard to secure. We stand with parents, coaches, and students who want to preserve those opportunities, and we will continue working to uphold them.”
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article provides a balanced overview of the debate over transgender athlete participation in Virginia schools, presenting both sides of the issue. It includes statements from proponents of the restrictions, such as Governor Glenn Youngkin and Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb, who argue that the new policy is necessary to preserve fairness and safety in women’s sports. The article also features perspectives from LGBTQ advocates and organizations, like the National Women’s Law Center, who emphasize inclusivity and the harms caused by the policy. While the article maintains a neutral tone overall, the framing of the issue and inclusion of more conservative viewpoints slightly tilts it toward the center-right side of the spectrum.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Jon Styf | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-05 12:55:00
(The Center Square) – The 2027 NFL Draft will be on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced on Monday.
The draft was recently held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and is scheduled to be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2026 after being hosted in Detroit in 2024.
“It’s going to be beautiful,” Trump said. “It’s going to be something that nobody else will ever be able to duplicate.”
The draft is regularly touted by its hosts, tourism departments and the NFL as an economic boon but economists believe the event’s benefits are overstated.
Wisconsin sent $2 million in funds to tourism for the event in its budget and released $5 million of opportunity attraction and promotion funds to tourism agencies in the state while lawmakers have proposed sending more than $1 million to Green Bay area law enforcement for additional time related to the event.
“Every year these bogus economic claims about the NFL draft come out,” economist J.C. Bradbury wrote about the Green Bay tourism estimates. “Economists haven’t studied it directly because it makes no sense. But we really could use an actual serious study to counteract this BS PR.”
Inflated claims are often a part of funding requests related to sports stadiums. But economists say the numbers are often flawed because they include only the revenue and not the lost revenue from the crowding out of other events, diverted spending from elsewhere in a region, and costs related to hosting an event.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stood next to Trump at the announcement, along with D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser and Washington Commanders co-owner Josh Harris.
Goodell claimed that 600,000 people attended the draft in Green Bay, nearly 800,000 did in Detroit and said the NFL expects nearly 1 million to attend the draft in D.C.
“We think that we can have a tremendous impact on this community,” Goodell said. “And it will not just be an event, it will be something that will show the world how far the nation’s capital has come and where it’s going.”
The trio announced a deal to build a $2.7 billion stadium project touted at a press conference one week early as mainly funded by the team that actually includes more than $2.5 billion worth of subsidies, according to the stadium financing blog Field of Schemes.
That deal includes $500 million through a Sports Facilities Fee with a tax capture at the stadium that would be created to pay off bonds, along with $175 million for the parking structure. Events DC, which is partially funded through taxpayer money, will put $181 million toward parking garages on the property and D.C. will pay $202 million for utilities infrastructure, roadways and a WMATA transit study.
The stadium deal also includes a reported $429 million property tax break because the city owns the stadium, $1 a year in rent over the 30-year lease term on federal land where the city has control of development that is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on the announcement of the 2027 NFL Draft location and the associated stadium deal, presenting facts about economic claims and the financial arrangements involved. While it includes critical perspectives, particularly from an economist questioning the economic benefits of hosting the NFL Draft and scrutiny of the stadium funding, the tone remains generally factual and focused on presenting various viewpoints. The criticism of public funding and subsidies suggests a skepticism often associated with fiscally conservative or center-right economic viewpoints, but this is balanced by straightforward reporting on statements from political figures and NFL officials. As a result, the article leans slightly center-right due to its cautious stance on economic claims and public spending but does not show overt ideological advocacy.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-05-05 12:20:12
SUMMARY: A weather impact alert is in effect Monday afternoon and evening due to a level two out of five risk for severe weather. Strong to severe thunderstorms with gusty winds up to 60-65 mph, quarter-sized hail, and heavy rain are expected primarily between 2 and 10 p.m., peaking from 5 to 9 p.m., mainly inland from I-95 to the Hampton Roads beltway. Coastal areas will see less severe weather due to cooler seabreeze temperatures. Tornado risk is low, and flooding potential is minimal but localized flood risk exists inland. The cold front causing storms will exit by Tuesday morning, with temperatures in the lower 80s through midweek.
The 13 News Now Weather Impact Team has declared a “Weather Impact Alert” for Monday afternoon and evening due to the …
www.youtube.com – 12 On Your Side – 2025-05-05 06:21:40
SUMMARY: Starting May 7, travelers must have a Real ID with a star in the top right corner to use a driver’s license for airport security in domestic air travel. TSA has been actively reminding passengers about this change and encouraging timely compliance to avoid delays or extra screening. Other accepted IDs include passports and military IDs. Virginia DMV states you can obtain a Real ID anytime, with over 4 million Virginians already having one. TSA emphasizes that Real ID enhances security by verifying identities. For more information on obtaining a Real ID and acceptable documents, visit 12onyourside.com.
TSA, DMV issue reminders as REAL ID takes effect on May 7
