The dispute between the Trump administration and California over trans athletes has escalated to a lawsuit.
The administration said on Wednesday that it will sue the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for still allowing those who were born male to compete in women’s sports, according to Fox News.
California’s policies on the issue “eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls … they also require girls to share intimate spaces, such as locker rooms, with boys, causing a hostile educational environment that denies girls educational opportunities,” per the lawsuit. “The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition.”
According to California’s policy, athletes can compete in sports according to their gender identity. Officials have maintained that this does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The U.S. Education Department said recently that California was in violation of Title IX. But, the CDE and CIF would not sign the resolution agreement offered by the department late last month. The two were given until July 7 to do so.
Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke about the issue Tuesday.
“I struggled with the issue of fairness when it came to sports,” he said. “And we tried to figure that out a couple of years ago, and we were unsuccessful, and we struggled with that recently.
“And my position is that I don’t think it’s fair, but I also think it’s demeaning to talk down to people, and to belittle the trans community. And I don’t like the way the right wing talks about the trans community. These people just want to survive,” he added.
The Trump administration’s lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court Central District of California.
“Across the State of California, girls must compete against boys in various sports pursuant to policies enforced by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF),” per the lawsuit. “These discriminatory policies and practices ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous ‘gender identity.’”
“The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition. In the words of the Governor of California, it is ‘deeply unfair’ for girls to compete against boys,” the lawsuit continued.
“This discrimination is not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys. It erodes the integrity of girls’ sports, diminishes their competitive experience, and undermines the very purpose of Title IX: to provide equal access to educational benefits, including interscholastic athletics,” it added. “Despite warnings from the United States Department of Education, Defendants continue to require California schools to allow boys to compete against girls. The United States accordingly files this action to stop Defendants’ illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes.”
