Joe Biden scraps proposed rule on trans athletes in girls' sports

Schools will retain the right to decide which teams trans athletes can join after the latest Biden U-turn.

The Biden administration on Friday withdrew a proposed rule change that would have stopped schools from banning transgender athletes from teams matching their gender identities.

The administration notified the public that it had withdrawn the proposed rule in the Federal Register.

The administration had proposed the rule in April 2023, inviting the public to comment. It said on Friday that it had received more than 150,000 public replies.

Many of the comments were against the proposed rule, the administration wrote in its Federal Register filing. That, along with multiple pending lawsuits related to gender identity and sports, led the administration 'not to regulate on this issue at this time.'

Critics say transgender women who take part in women's sports are often bigger and stronger than their cisgender opponents and have an unfair advantage.

Earlier this year, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics banned transgender women from competing in women's sports, a more hardline stance than other athletic bodies that allow trans athletes to compete based on testosterone levels.

Transgender rights have become a political hot button in recent years. Republicans at all levels campaigned strongly on the issue in November, with particular focus on transgender women participating in school sports.

President-elect Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to restrict gender-affirming care and transgender sports participation.

The Biden proposal from 2023 would have offered flexibility to K-12 schools and universities to limit the participation of transgender students when including them could undermine 'fairness in competition' or potentially lead to sports-related injuries.

The proposal would have made changes to Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding.

Title IX, requiring schools to provide equal opportunities for women in U.S. education programs, has been credited with opening the door to more women in sports.

The U.S. Supreme Court this month signaled its willingness to uphold a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

Earlier this year, transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming and the SJSU team's season was marred by forefits from rival schools and limited protests amid the outrage over Fleming, who is a biological male.

Multiple opponents refused to play against SJSU this season amid concerns over Fleming.

A host of players from colleges in the same conference as SJSU even filed a lawsuit seeking to block Fleming from the Mountain West tournament, before some of the player's teammates even hopped on board.

The lawsuit argued that allowing them to participate would knowingly violate a law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in women's sports.

However, Judge S. Kato Crews - an appointee of President Biden to the US District Court in Colorado - ruled that Fleming could continue to compete on SJSU's women's team despite that accusation.

Back in 2022, a women's volleyball player suffered serious brain damage after she was knocked to the ground by a transgender opponent.

Payton McNabb was 17 when a ball spiked by a trans opponent with force struck her in the face, threw her to the ground and left her unconscious while she played a volleyball match.

Payton was left with brain damage and paralysis on her right side, which ended her dreams of getting a volleyball college scholarship and has made it difficult to walk without falling.

Two years on, her parents are urging families to 'pull your kid' from sports games amid the controversy surrounding trans athletes.