The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association has made the right decision by aligning with President Trump’s Executive Order 14201 and banning transgender athletes assigned male at birth from competing in girls’ sports. This policy is a necessary correction to ensure fairness and protect opportunities for female athletes, something that had been undermined under the previous 2013 policy.
Under the 2013 WIAA guidelines, transgender athletes were permitted to compete in alignment with their gender identity under certain conditions. Hormone supplementation or suppression therapy, when prescribed and monitored by a licensed physician, did not violate WIAA’s performance-enhancing substance regulation. However, even with these requirements, the undeniable biological differences between male and female athletes placed girls at a competitive disadvantage. Biological males, even after hormone therapy, retain significant physiological advantages, including bone density, lung capacity, and muscle composition. This reality has been demonstrated repeatedly in competitions where transgender athletes outperformed their female counterparts, depriving young women of titles, scholarships, and opportunities. Additionally, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence showing that women and girls are at risk of significant and career-ending injuries when competing with those physically larger and stronger. In North Carolina, Payton McNabb had her volleyball career cut short after she was hit by a ball traveling at 70mph that was hit by a transgender athlete. She still has migraines and suffers from partial paralysis on her right side.
Not only was the policy unfair to female athletes, it was dangerous for all youth participants who were suffering from gender dysphoria. WIAA’s policy promoted the use of body-altering drugs by telling student athletes and their families that these chemicals were allowed in competition. According to the American College of Pediatricians, the use of puberty blockers in kids may cause mental illness, such as depression, or increase the risk of suicide. Even temporary use of these drugs, like Lupron, is associated with serious permanent side effects including osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and sterility. Cross-sex hormones are putting youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers. These so-called ‘treatments’ are nothing more than dangerous experiments.
While serving as Senator for the 8th District in 2023, Representative Barb Dittrich and I introduced AB 377 and 378 which required schools to designate teams as male, female, or co-ed based on the sex of the participants. The bills had overwhelming support; in my summer survey that year, I asked constituents the question, “Should someone who is born a biological male be allowed to participate in girls’ sports?” An overwhelming 73% of respondents said, “No,” aligning with other public polling in Wisconsin and nationwide. Unsurprisingly, Governor Tony Evers vetoed the bill in its entirety citing the Department of Education’s 2021 flawed interpretation of Title IX which allowed students to participate in athletics based on stated gender identity.
President Trump’s Executive Order 14201, signed in February 2025, brings much-needed clarity to this issue by reinforcing Title IX’s original intent: to ensure that women have equal opportunities in athletics. The executive order mandated that educational institutions receiving federal funding must enforce policies ensuring that female sports are reserved exclusively for biological women. This prompted organizations like the NCAA to quickly follow suit. NCAA President Charlie Baker praised the order for providing “a clear, national standard” on the issue. The WIAA decided to align with the federal directive to maintain fairness in high school sports.
The importance of protecting women’s sports cannot be overstated. Title IX was enacted to guarantee that girls and women had the same access to athletic opportunities as their male counterparts. By allowing biological males to compete in these spaces, we risk rolling back decades of progress. This is not about discrimination; it is about safeguarding a level playing field where girls can compete fairly and without undue disadvantages.
A Marquette Law School poll from December 2024 shows that 76% of Americans support requiring transgender athletes to play on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth and an Ipsos survey in January 2025 found that 79% of Americans support restrictions on transgender athletes in women’s sports. The WIAA’s adoption of federal policy is a common-sense move and aligns with popular opinion. Predictably, critics argue that this decision marginalizes transgender athletes, but fairness in competition must take precedence. Transgender athletes should be encouraged to participate in sports, but in a way that does not compromise the integrity of girls’ athletics. The participation of biological males in girls’ sports is simply not equitable.
The WIAA’s policy change is a step in the right direction for Wisconsin and should serve as a model for other states grappling with this issue. In an effort to secure women’s and girls’ rights in Wisconsin, Representative Dittrich and I, with the support of Senator Rob Hutton, are reintroducing the “Save Women’s Sports Act” in the Wisconsin legislature. If we are to preserve the spirit of competition and the rights of female athletes, we must stand firmly in support of policies that ensure fairness. Wisconsin’s decision upholds the integrity of girls’ sports, and for that, it deserves our full support.
– Knodl, R-Germantown, represents the 24th Assembly District. Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, represents the 99th Assembly District.
