(The Center Square) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill on Tuesday that requires transgender athletes at the state’s universities and community colleges to compete on teams based on their birth sex.
House Bill 261 was sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, and also prevents governmental entities, licensing, accreditation organizations or athletic associations from filing a complaint, opening an investigation or any other adverse action against a school that follows state law. It also gives those who say they are deprived of an athletic opportunity because a school is in violation of the law an ability to take the institution to court.
“Look, if you are a biological male, you are not going to be competing in women’s and girls’ sports in Alabama,” Ivey said in a news release touting her signing of the bill. “It’s about fairness, plain and simple.”
In 2021, she signed into law a bill that banned males from competing in girls’ sports in K-12. She also signed a letter earlier this month with 24 other Republican governors asking the Biden administration to stop its intent to expand Title IX protections to transgender athletes.
Twenty-one states prohibit transgender students from participating on sports teams that do not align with their biological sex at birth, according to the Movement Advancement Project that tracks state policies.
