California Will Continue to Allow ‘Transgender’-Identified Male Athletes in Girls Sports
Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of girl-only sports, California will continue to allow “transgender”-identified male athletes to compete in girls and women’s sports.
According to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom said that “the Supreme Court ruling will not impact California’s current setup.”
Reporter Jackson Thompson posted on X about the governor’s office’s response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in State of West Virginia v. BPJ that states are allowed to protect girls and women’s sports with laws that keep sports separate based on biology.
Newsom's office has responded to the SCOTUS Title IX ruling, saying California will continue to let males compete in girls' sports, and boasting his record of appointing trans judges and making it making it easier to update gender markers on documents.https://t.co/vgIL8DOV78
— Jackson Thompson (@JackThompsonFOX) July 2, 2026
But the Court’s ruling did not overturn state laws that allow boys to compete on the basis of “gender identity,” a spurious, completely subjective individual and social construct.
Fox News Digital received a statement from the governor’s office which read:
That position seems to be at odds with what Newsom said just a year ago in a conversation on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.” Charlie Kirk, who was Newsom’s guest on the podcast’s launch, asked him, “Would you say no men in female sports?”
Newsom replied, “Well, it’s I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that it is an issue of fairness.” The Governor went on to mention his wife and two daughters’ involvement in sports.
So which is it, Gov. Newsom? He has taken no steps to protect his daughters and preserve girls and women’s sports for female athletes.
California was one of the first states to allow boys who identify as female to compete on a girlsteam, after the legislature passed Assembly Bill 1266 in 2013. The law applied to kindergarten through 12th grade, requiring that “a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
That legislation also affected girls’ privacy and safety, as it opened school locker rooms, showers and restrooms to boys who identify as girls.
The California governor has taken no steps to implement “fairness” and protect female athletes. Instead, his administration has fought to keep boys who reject their masculinity in girls sports.
For example, the state is battling a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against the California Department of Education and California Interscholastic Federation for violating Title IX. The lawsuit described numerous incidents of boys taking spots on teams and victories from girls, as well as violating girls privacy and safety by changing with them and watching them undress in locker rooms.
In addition, California filed its own lawsuit against the Department of Justice over its demand the state prohibit male athletes from competing in women’s and girls sports.
In addition to California, Illinois officials have stated that males who claim to be female can still compete on girls teams. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on a statement from Attorney General Kwame Raoul:
Raoul misses the point completely: “Transgender” students have always been allowed to take part in school activities. But they should participate based on their sex – not on a misleading “gender identity.”
According to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBT activist organization, 21 states and Washington, D.C., do not protect girls sports.
Hopefully, the Court will take up a case soon challenging these states that reject biological reality in favor of false and destructive transgender ideology.
Related articles and resources:
Blockbuster Supreme Court Ruling: Girls Sports Are for Girls
Department of Justice Launches Title IX Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports
DOJ Lawsuit Describes California Department of Education’s Infuriating Treatment of Girls
Ed Dept. Finds San José State Violated Title IX With Male Athlete in Women’s Volleyball
Girls Shouldn’t Apologize for Protesting Boys in Girls Sports
President Trump: ‘There are Only Two Genders: Male and Female’
Top 5 Moments From Supreme Court Arguments Over Girls Sports
Transgender Ideology is Inherently Destructive
Transgender Ideology is Inherently Destructive Part 2
Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces
Yes, Girls Care When Boys Take Their Trophies
Maryland Teacher to U.S. Supreme Court: Strike Down Policy ‘Requiring Educators Lie’ to Parents
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Johnston is a culture and policy analyst for Focus on the Family and a staff writer for Daily Citizen. He researches, writes and teaches about topics of concern to families such as parental rights, religious freedom, LGBT issues, education and free speech. Johnston has been interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, Associated Press News, The Christian Post, Rolling Stone and Vice, and is a frequent guest on radio and television outlets. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from San Diego State University with a Bachelors in English and a Teaching Credential. He and his wife have been married 30 years and have three grown sons.



