(The Center Square) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares hosted a press conference Tuesday with other state leaders and advocacy groups supporting legislation that would only allow biological females to compete on women’s sports teams in Virginia.
“Virginia will never roll back Title IX under the guise of false equity,” Miyares said. “Let us stand firmly with every girl and woman in Virginia to protect fairness, ensure safety, and uphold the opportunities they have earned.”
Women from the Roanoke College women’s swim team were also in attendance, as a transgender student temporarily joined their team in 2023. So was Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who became a voice for the Save Women’s Sport movement after competing against transgender athlete Leah Thomas.
“It’s awesome to stand alongside the brave Roanoke College women’s swim team who was also forced to share a pool with a man and say ’no more’!” Gaines said. “There is a tsunami of support to save women’s sports, and the leadership of Virginia is listening.”
The legislation comes at what may be a watershed moment for the transgender rights movement in the U.S. In April, the Biden administration’s amendments to Title IX were released, ensuring the sex-based protections the rules first afforded to female students included transgender and gay students.
A federal judge in Kentucky struck down the new rules less than one week ago. A similar bill just passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. At the same time, President-elect Donald Trump – who has also talked about a national prohibition on gender-affirming care for minors.
According to a 2023 article by ESPN, 23 states had at that time adopted a version of the Save Women’s Sports Act. Similar legislation was introduced in Virginia in 2023 and 2024 but failed to make it out of the General Assembly. As a result, it’s currently up to school districts or sports leagues to decide whether they allow students to play on sports teams matching their transgender identity, though the model policies the Youngkin administration put in place for schools discourage it.
Del. Delores Oates, R-Warren, and Sen. Tammy Brankley Mulchi, R-Mecklenburg, carry this year’s companion bills – dubbed the ‘Stand with Women’ legislation – in the House of Delegates and the state Senate.
“This is an incredibly important legislation and I’m so glad to see the interest in making sure Virginia’s women and girls have a fair chance to compete in sports,” Oates said.
