Before heading to the White House, President Trump promised in his campaign to “affirm sex-based distinctions in every area, such as shelters, prisons, housing, healthcare, defense, education, and sports.” He followed through with swift executive action to keep men out of women’s sports. Numerous Title IX investigations by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights have led to the U.S. Department of Justice taking action against Maine, California, Minnesota, and others. Despite the flurry of federal attention, the lack of sex-based policy guarantees has left women still participating, changing, and traveling with male competitors.
The influence of Riley Gaines and other female athletes in the 2024 presidential election was undeniable. Around 70 percent of voters identified it as a key issue. The politicians they selected responded quickly; the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act as one of its first bills, and the President signed Executive Order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” in his first month in office. However, these actions have been insufficient to lay the issue to rest.
Despite the 54th anniversary of Title IX, men are still competing in women’s sports across the country. Kallie, a female sophomore wrestler in Washington state, is suing her state after being forced to wrestle a boy. She said she was sexually assaulted during the match, reported it to the school, and the school did nothing for months. The Department has been investigating alleged Title IX violations in Washington since March 2025.
A similar story is playing out in California. AB Hernandez, a high school senior male athlete in California, just clinched another year of state titles competing in women’s high jump, long jump, and triple jump. At the time of the semifinals, there were three reported male athletes competing in six women’s track and field events in California.
The Trump Administration has pointed its arrow at California since it took over the executive branch. California has been one of the most egregious offenders, allowing men to steal women’s athletic opportunities. In February 2025, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education began investigating the state’s Title IX failures. In July 2025, the Department of Justice sued California in federal court, alleging that the state's policies violate Title IX; meanwhile, Hernandez and others continue to rack up state titles and awards.
A Supreme Court decision any day now could change the trajectory of this injustice against female athletes by reaffirming the original intent of Title IX. But it will not solve the problem. Without states, schools, and sports governing bodies being accountable for full disclosure and enforcement of an athlete’s actual sex, males who are masking their identity as girls will be on the court, the track, and the wrestling mat.
Just days after President Trump signed the historic executive order, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) raised a white flag, announcing it would release a new policy to comply with the President’s demands. However, the new policy, The Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes, was hardly a concession, and the NCAA knew it. It continues to allow athletes who identify as transgender to participate on teams based on their feelings, not their sex.
The NCAA’s new policy forfeits verifiable enforcement of sex-based protections by relying on birth certificates as proof; birth certificates can be easily amended without a record in many states. Original certificates are legally sealed, as if they never existed.
The pipeline of male prospects for women’s NCAA volleyball is working. These athletes, whose NCAA eligibility is tracked before they enter high school, will come from a variety of streams, including high school sports, but most sports recruit through travel teams affiliated with the sport’s national governing body (NGB).
President Trump mentioned these NGB policies specifically in his executive order, saying they are “unfair to female athletes and do not protect female safety.” A recent exposé by REDUXX tracks three male players participating on women’s USA Volleyball teams, proving his point. USA Volleyball (USAV) released a new policy, similar to the NCAA’s, stating that athletes must compete according to their “sex assigned at birth,” documented by birth certificates. Athletes can still mark their USAV profile under their chosen “gender identity” and can change it from one year to the next. This loophole allows boys to compete in girls’ volleyball under USAV.
These NGBs are certified by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee under the Ted Stevens Act, which Congress could amend to impose stricter enforcement of sex-based protections through the Protecting Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The bill was reported favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee, but has not been brought to the floor for a vote.
While we have seen notable movement to protect women’s sports at the federal level, the problem of men competing in women’s sports is far from gone or buried. Elected officials must continue fighting to preserve the legacy and longstanding protections this civil rights law has provided women. The solution requires much more than election messaging; we must fully demand strong Title IX enforcement. That means no men competing in women’s sports.
Macy Charles (Petty) is a former NCAA volleyball player and legislative strategist for the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, dedicated to promoting biblical values and constitutional principles in public policy.