Allowing Boys To Compete Against Girls Isn’t Sport, It’s A Losing Game

For the second consecutive year, controversy has surrounded the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) girls’ track and field state championships because a biological male claimed several state titles. Last year, due to a pilot policy implemented by the CIF, the transgender athlete shared the highest spot on the podium with the top female finisher(s). Naturally, the CIF’s attempt at appeasement backfired, provoking the ire of parties on both sides of the issue.

Why would supporters of the transgender athlete take umbrage with CIF’s policy when he was not only allowed to compete under his adopted gender identity but also take home hardware? Because it is not actually about participation. It is, however, about advancing queer theory and a far-Left ideology into every aspect of American life, including youth sports.

Even though proponents claim that their position is about “inclusivity” and “fairness,” the real agenda is the forced acceptance and affirmation of a transgender athlete’s chosen gender. If everyone doesn’t agree that “trans women are women,” it’s hateful. As they see it, any rule or small measure taken that explicitly or implicitly reinforces biological reality invalidates and erases the trans individual’s claimed identity — this is why we hear phrases like “trans genocide” being used to describe America.

This explains why there is outrage from the transgender athlete’s family, supporters, and activists over the CIF’s policy.

While the girls’ California track and field championships drew major headlines, the West Virginia transgender athlete at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case West Virginia v. B.P.J. also received national coverage after dominating his female opponents en route to a state title. The biological male threw the shot put two feet farther than the top female finisher, a massive performance gap by the sport’s metrics.

Ironically, the West Virginia teen’s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued in January that their client, a male, has no physiological differences or competitive advantages compared to females.

Unfortunately, the ACLU’s argument is rooted in ideological virtue signaling intended to advance a radical Left-wing agenda. It is absurd that society has to rely on scientific research and data to reinforce what humans have understood for thousands of years. Yet here we are in 2026 debating whether male athletes have an advantage over biological females.

If you happen to be confused about this matter, I can assure you that after spending a quarter century coaching male and female athletes from junior high to NCAA Division I, there is a verifiable difference in athletic ability and performance between the two sexes.

But regardless of how much data and common sense we inject into the cultural fray, those who are committed to the transgender cause are not going to stop pushing for policies that allow males to compete against females or to have access to female-only spaces. Today, it is a single biological male athlete here or there, but if this intrusion is not stopped, girls’ athletics teams across the country will feature multiple males who claim to be female.

In fact, the Department of Education recently sent a warning letter to Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado over allegations that the district allowed more than 60 males to compete on female teams.

Within the next few weeks, the Supreme Court will release its decision in West Virginia v. B.P.J. Hopefully, the outcome will help stop this madness. I am convinced there are school districts that would welcome the legal clarity to restrict males to male sports.

No female athlete should be forced to compete against a biological male or have to share a state or national championship podium with one.

Unfortunately, proponents of transgender athletes are not going to go away quietly.

Which is why parents, school leaders, coaches, and community members need to demand a return to common sense and reject the far-Left, radical queer theory-based ideology colonizing sports and education.

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Rhyen Staley is a researcher for Defending Education. He holds a master’s degree in elementary education and has over a decade of classroom experience in both public and private schools. He has over 25 years of coaching experience from junior high to Division I.