Virginia Health Department bans biological males from women’s sports

The Virginia Department of Health has voted to bar male transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

The state health board approved Petition 432 earlier this week, following a similar policy adopted by the Virginia High School League earlier this year.

The board’s vote sets up a regulatory process expected to take up to two years.

“The actual rule making process that they are entering into by voting to advance this petition, it will play out behind closed doors over the next 18 to 24 months,” Reed Williams, Equality Virginia’s director of digital engagement, told reporters.

The health department’s decision came just days before Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares released findings from his office’s investigation into a transgender swimmer competing on the women’s team at Roanoke College in 2023.

Miyares’ report concluded the school’s policy allowing a male swimmer to compete against females violated the Virginia Human Rights Act.

“Men and women in competitive sports are separated for a reason,” Miyares told reporters. “A male who has undergone puberty has a significant undeniable athletic advantage over females that no intervention can undo. … (T)he women’s swim team endured, and is still enduring, emotional, physical and dignitary harm because of Roanoke College’s failure to follow the law.”

The report also suggested the female athletes can seek financial damages under state law.

The investigation revealed some women speaking out about the issue faced retaliation. Roanoke College denied female swimmers access to travel programs after they criticized the school’s handling of the situation, the report noted.

Katie Mullens, the mother of a Roanoke swimmer, read a statement written by her daughter, former team captain Lily Mullens.

“What followed was a growing ordeal that took a tremendous toll on my mental health, my physical well-being and my emotional strength,” Mullens said. “My teammates and I faced anxieties, sleepless nights and a sense of defeat and abandonment.”

The controversy at Roanoke College drew comparisons to the NCAA case involving former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas. Seven Roanoke athletes have since joined a lawsuit against the NCAA led by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, according to Fox News.

Over 30 U.S. states now restrict males from competing in women’s sports.

Since President Donald Trump signed his executive order this past winter, directing federal agencies to withhold funding from states allowing the practice, many states – including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Nebraska – have barred male transgender athletes from competing against women. The NCAA, the largest college sports governing body in America, also followed suit.

Additionally, a January New York Times poll found 79% of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports; just 18% support it.