The Virginia High School League (VHSL) announced on Monday that its executive committee has voted to align the league with President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” This order, signed last Wednesday, aims to prevent biological men from participating in girls’ and women’s sports, fulfilling one of Trump’s key campaign promises. The signing coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which honors female athletes and advocates for equal access to sports for all women.
Effective immediately, the VHSL, which oversees high school sports in Virginia and includes 318 member schools with over 177,000 student participants annually, will adhere to the executive order. VHSL Executive Director John W. Haun stated, “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, providing our membership with clear and consistent direction.”
The VHSL executive committee has also instructed staff to propose emergency legislation to amend policies in accordance with the executive order. Changes to the policy manual will be implemented shortly. Trump emphasized the straightforward nature of the order, stating, “This doesn’t have to be long. It’s all about common sense. Women’s sports will be only for women,” declaring, “The war on women’s sports is over.”
Following the signing of the order, the NCAA also announced a ban on transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, implementing this policy just a day later. The new rule specifies that “a student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team,” while allowing biological females to participate in men’s sports. NCAA President Charlie Baker expressed that uniform eligibility standards are essential for today’s student-athletes, rather than a mix of conflicting state laws and court rulings, and noted that Trump’s order establishes a clear national standard.
Several Independent Women ambassadors, including Riley Gaines, Payton McNabb, and others, were present during the signing of the executive order at the White House. Gaines, who hosts a podcast focused on women’s sports, has been a vocal advocate for fairness in athletics, sharing her experiences competing against transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
