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Transgender female athletes can still compete under state law, Maine sports governing body says

Maine Public | By Patty Wight
Published February 7, 2025 at 11:47 AM EST
A proposed ban on transgender athletes playing female school sports in Utah would affect transgender girls like this 12-year-old swimmer seen at a pool in Utah on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. She and her family spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to avoid outing her publicly. She cried when she heard about the proposal that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools, which would separate her from her friends. She’s far from the tallest girl on her team, and has worked hard to improve her times but is not a dominant swimmer in her age group, her coach said. “Other than body parts I’ve been a girl my whole life,” she said.
Rick Bowmer
/
AP
A proposed ban on transgender athletes playing female school sports in Utah would affect transgender girls like this 12-year-old swimmer seen at a pool in Utah on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. She and her family spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to avoid outing her publicly. She cried when she heard about the proposal that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools, which would separate her from her friends. She’s far from the tallest girl on her team, and has worked hard to improve her times but is not a dominant swimmer in her age group, her coach said. “Other than body parts I’ve been a girl my whole life,” she said.

The Maine Principal's Association says it will continue to allow transgender female athletes to compete despite an executive order from President Trump that seeks to ban the practice.

"The executive order and our Maine state Human Rights Act are in conflict, and the Maine Principal's Association will continue to follow state law as it pertains to gender identity," says Mike Burnham, executive director of the MPA.

Burnham says the MPA doesn't track the number of transgender athletes who compete in Maine high school sports.

President Trump's order issued Wednesday says that schools and athletic associations that allow transgender female athletes to compete are ineligible for federal funding for violating Title IX, which bans sex discrimination.
Sports
Patty Wight
pwight@mainepublic.org
See stories by Patty Wight