Virginia Health Board votes to ban transgender women from women’s sports

Sal Orlando, Contributing Writer

The Virginia Board of Health voted on Aug. 18 to approve plans that would prohibit transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams across the state — though the policy may take years to implement.

The vote followed a petition by three women’s collegiate swimmers who argued they have faced harm from competing against transgender women. The petitioners are Lily Mullens, former swimmer at Roanoke College, Carter Satterfield, current swimmer at Roanoke and Réka György, former swimmer, Olympian and director of operations of the swim team at Virginia Tech.

The petition outlined that “the public health of Virginians, particularly of women and girls, demands that the Department of Health take action to prevent further harm, both physical and psychological, from males claiming or pretending to be females and gaining access to female-only athletic competitions and private spaces.”

The Board of Health has not previously focused on athletics, making it unclear how the ban will be carried out, according to Axios.

This decision will have devastating consequences for transgender athletes in Virginia, according to Shannon McKay, executive director of queer advocacy group He She Ze and We. 

“Being on a sports team provides valuable learning, not only about competition, but also the unique experiences of teamwork, being able to take constructive criticism, engaging in team spirit, cooperation and the physical and mental health benefits that every young person deserves,” McKay stated. “Excluding trans athletes sends a message that they are not valid, not welcome and not equal. For many, this will mean increased isolation.”

HSZ & W is firmly opposed to the ban, which they described as another hateful attack on the transgender community, according to McKay.

“These agencies that are making these decisions need more education to understand the true lived experiences of transgender youth, especially trans girls,” McKay stated. “If the decision-makers actually knew these young people and spent time with them, they would understand trans girls are not a threat to the fairness of girls’ sports competition.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February revoking all funds to educational programs that permit transgender women to compete on women’s teams.

The Trump and Youngkin administrations have made numerous moves rolling back protections for transgender people. VCU Health announced in July it would stop providing gender-affirming care at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond to patients under the age of 19, according to a previous report by The CT.

The Virginia High School League responded to Trump’s February order by banning transgender students from competing in girls’ sports. The Health Board’s vote is the first action on the collegiate level.

VCU Athletics adheres to all laws and policies set forth by the NCAA and the Commonwealth of Virginia, according to Evan Nicely, assistant athletic director for women’s basketball external affairs. 

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to the well-being of all of our student-athletes,” Nicely stated.

The Supreme Court announced in July that it will be hearing two cases challenging bans on transgender athletes from competing in local and collegiate sports in the fall, according to the ACLU. The court’s revisits make the future of transgender rights in the U.S. unclear. 

CORRECTION: A previous iteration of this story misspelled Shannon McKay’s name. The story has been updated with the correct spelling.