In a significant win for the integrity of women’s sports, safety, and due process, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Biden-Harris administration’s controversial Title IX rewrite in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The court determined that the administration overstepped its legal authority by expanding the definition of discrimination “on the basis of sex” to include “gender identity,” raising significant concerns about fairness and legal compliance within schools and athletic programs.
This ruling came after a lawsuit spearheaded by the Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), Speech First, Parents Defending Education, and the attorneys general of the aforementioned states. At the heart of the legal challenge was the Biden administration’s push to force schools to adopt policies that some argue blur the lines between biological sex and gender identity. These policies, if enforced, could have exposed schools and ultimately staff and students to penalties for not adhering to pronoun mandates, opened women’s sports competitions to biological males, and eroded crucial due process protections for students accused of sexual harassment.
While a lower court in Alabama initially allowed the administration’s rewrite to stand, the 11th Circuit Court’s ruling placed a crucial injunction on its enforcement, halting the policy across the four states. The decision provides much-needed relief to students and educational institutions in these states, ensuring that biological distinctions, particularly in competitive sports, are preserved.
The court’s ruling is an important step in defending the progress that women have made in sports over the last 50 years. Title IX has long been celebrated for ensuring that women have the same access to sports scholarships, athletic facilities, and athletic (and ultimately academic) opportunities as men. But this hard-won progress is in jeopardy if biological males—who have inherent physical advantages—are allowed to compete against biological females. The consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s overreach would be devastating–causing women to lose scholarships, titles, and athletic opportunities to competitors with different chromosomes, undermining the essential purpose of Title IX itself.
As this legal battle unfolds, it raises urgent and fundamental questions about the future of women’s sports in light of the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to circumvent the very core of Title IX. Far from expanding rights, this effort undermines the clear and original intent of Title IX, which has been instrumental in the growth and success of women’s athletics since its enactment. By distorting these protections, the administration is not fostering inclusivity, but instead jeopardizing the opportunities Title IX was specifically designed to safeguard for female athletes.
Ultimately, this issue will almost certainly have to be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Until then, the enforcement of the Biden-Harris rules remains inconsistent, leaving women’s sports more protected in some states than others. Many states are still subject to the administration’s overreach, creating a patchwork of enforcement that compromises the safety and fairness of female athletes. In fact, we’re already seeing alarming examples, like the women’s volleyball team at San Jose State, where fairness and safety concerns have led to game forfeitures. This chaotic landscape is untenable, and it further highlights the urgent need for clarity and a return to the ultimate point of Title IX.
For a deeper examination of this ongoing battle, I recently sat down with Cherise Trump, Executive Director of Speech First, on The Modern Federalist Podcast. We discussed Speech First’s role in this case and the broader fight to defend women’s sports from the Biden-Harris administration’s overreach. If you wish, you can listen to our conversation on Apple Podcasts or any major podcast platform.
Charlton Allen is the founder and editor-in-chief of The American Salient and the founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc. Learn more about him at charltonallen.org.
