Trump admin investigating Minnesota, California schools for defying order barring biological males from women’s sports

The US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Wednesday that it will conduct directed investigations into both organizations for policies that permit biological male athletes to compete in women’s sports and access women’s facilities.

“The Minnesota State High School League and the California Interscholastic Federation are free to engage in all the meaningless virtue-signaling that they want, but at the end of the day, they must abide by federal law,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “OCR’s Chicago and San Francisco regional offices will conduct directed investigations into both organizations to ensure that female athletes in these states are treated with the dignity, respect, and equality that the Trump administration demands.”

Trainor further emphasized that history does not look favorably upon those who actively oppose federal civil rights protections for women and girls.

Minnesota officials last week stated that they will follow state law rather than Trump’s executive order. The Minnesota State High School League sent an email to member schools stating that participation and eligibility for transgender athletes are determined by the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the state constitution, both of which contain protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

“The Minnesota State High School League, similar to other youth sports organizations, is subject to state anti-discrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity,” the statement read. “Therefore, students in Minnesota are allowed to participate consistent with their gender identity.”

California has taken a similar stance, maintaining that state policies will continue to govern participation in high school sports despite potential federal consequences.

President Trump’s executive order gives the federal government broad authority to withhold funding from organizations that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities” by allowing biological male athletes to compete in female sports.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) responded by revising its transgender participation policy, limiting women’s college sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) previously implemented a similar policy in 2023, effectively barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.