Girls Sports

Maine Schools Violated Title IX, Must Apologize, Feds Say

The Maine Department of Education (MDOE), Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School violated Title IX by allowing men to compete in women’s sports, two federal investigations concluded this week.

The institutions must agree to comply with federal rules by the end of the month or risk losing funding.

The Departments of Education (DOE) and Health and Human Services (HHS) distribute federal money to schools and education programs that comply with Title IX and other government rules.

On February 5, President Trump signed Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, an executive order finding that allowing men to compete on women’s teams violates Title IX.

“Under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, educational institutions receiving federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports,” the order reads, arguing:

[Allowing men to compete in women’s sports], is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.

Maine is one of four states publicly defying the order. On February 21, Maine Governor Janet Mills effectively told President Trump she would continue allowing men to compete in women’s sports until he took her to court.

The Civil Rights Offices at DOE and HHS launched Title IX compliance investigations into Maine schools that same day.

Investigators at HHS quickly stumbled on Greely High School, which won a women’s state track and field competition in February with a biological male’s help.

Formerly John Rydzewski, Katie Spencer took first in the women’s pole vault, beating the women who tied for second by a whopping six inches.

Had Spencer competed as a male, Outkick reports, he would have tied for 10th out of 13 competitors. When Spencer competed in the men’s pole vault at the same tournament just last year, he came in ninth.

Spencer’s contribution allowed Greely to win the overall competition, edging out Freeport High School by just one point. Both women who lost to Spencer in the pole vault were Freeport athletes.

Greely High School, the MDOE and the Maine Principals’ Association, which contributes money to interscholastic sports, must “resolve the matter through a signed agreement” by March 27 to avoid further action, HHS wrote in a press release Monday.

It’s unclear what that agreement includes.

DOE, which only investigated MDOE, has additionally ordered MDOE to sign six-point agreement to:

  • Direct all public schools to follow Title IX or risk losing funding.
  • Clarify that following Title IX means acknowledging there are only two sexes, segregating bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex and stopping boys from competing in girls’ sports.
  • Solicit a signed letter from every school certifying their compliance with Title IX and notify DOE of any violations.
  • Revise all rules and guidelines allowing men to join women’s teams.
  • Award appropriate accolades and trophies to female athletes that lost to men.
  • “Send a letter to [each] female athlete [whose record is restored] expressing an apology on behalf of the State of Maine for allowing her educational experience and participation in school sports to be marred by sex discrimination.”

MDOE must comply with this additional requirement by March 29.

None of the implicated organizations have responded to ED and HHS’ accusations.

Women deserve equal access to single-sex bathrooms, locker rooms and sports. After years of watching men violate these spaces and experiences with impunity, it’s a relief to watch the legislators and administrators that enable women’s oppression get their comeuppance.

Here’s to the further protection and vindication of women.

Additional Articles and Resources

Department of Education Launches Multiple Investigations Into Title IX Violations

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Department of Education: Schools Embracing DEI Will Lose Funding

Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes

Courts Defend Title IX from Department of Health and Human Services

Payton McNabb, Injured Volleyball Player, Wins Title IX Victory

Payton McNabb, who was severely injured in a high school girls volleyball game by a male student, won a Title IX victory after encountering a transgender-identified male in a women’s restroom at Western Carolina University.

She posted a video of the man leaving the women’s room on X, which led to the Title IX complaint.

The incident also led to McNabb’s expulsion from the Delta Zeta Sorority she had joined at WCU. The sorority said she violated its “anti-bullying policy” with “conduct which is prejudicial to the Sorority, tending to bring it into disrepute.”

The Daily Citizen connected with McNabb, who told us about the importance of this recent victory for girls and women,

This Title IX case is yet another piece of my story that proves gender ideology will not prevail. The truth wins. Most importantly, this civil rights investigation victory showcases that women do not need to sit there and take it – they do not need to accept men in their spaces, sports or intimate and private spaces.

She added, “I hope it gives other collegiate women the courage to stand up for themselves.”

Independent Women’s Features, a project of Independent Women’s Forum, explained how the kerfuffle with the man in the ladies’ room unfolded.

“McNabb confronted the male for making her feel uncomfortable in a vulnerable and private space, and subsequently expressed her First Amendment rights by posting a video of the ‘unreal’ encounter on X.”

IWF said that seeing the man leaving a private women’s space left McNabb feeling “bewildered and alarmed,” adding,

“As she tried to sort through emotions in her head in the heat of the moment, McNabb said she reflected on how young girls come in and out of that bathroom regularly during field trips to WCU’s public campus, and said she decided to question the male because she had no way of knowing his intentions.”

She asked the man, “Why are you in the girls’ bathroom?”

He responded, “Because I’m a trans girl.”

McNabb responded, “But you’re not a girl. … I pay a lot of money to be safe in the bathroom.”

The transgender-identifying man then filed a Title IX complaint with the university.

IWF writes, “McNabb won the campus Title IX case – a victory that is not only a personal triumph for McNabb, but also one with far-reaching implications in the ongoing legal battle over sex-based rights and the future of Title IX. “

McNabb first made headlines in September 2022, after receiving a severe head and neck injury when a male player spiked a ball so hard it knocked Payton out. She was 17 years old, a junior in high school. The injury left her concussed with a traumatic brain injury, partial paralysis and vision problems.

She still struggles with medical issues caused by the injury, as posted on X,

Being knocked out by a male player transformed McNabb into an activist. She’s an ambassador with Independent Women’s Forum, “advocating to protect girls’ and women’s sports while pursuing her bachelor’s degree.” 

First lady Melania Trump invited McNabb to be a special guest at President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 6, 2025, praising her because she “has made it her mission to put an end to this brutal unfairness.”

McNabb told us, “It was an incredible honor to attend President Trump’s Joint Session Address to Congress as one of the President and First Lady’s special guests. I was so excited to be there, to sit next to the Second Lady, and it’s a night I will never forget.”

She also excoriated those who blocked a federal bill to protect women’s sports, and told us she has been targeted by activists after attending the speech,

I have received significant pushback since I attended the address. My story is a testament to the real physical threat men in women’s sports pose, which is why it is no surprise that radical activists are now trying to discredit my story.

Brave women like McNabb, who stand for truth about biological reality and for fairness for girls and women, deserve our prayers and support. We’re asking God to heal her and to protect her as she fights to save women’s sports and battles for women’s safety and privacy in sex-segregated spaces.

Related Articles and Resources:

International Women’s Features: Payton McNabb Prevails in Title IX Case As Legal Fights Over Sex Definitions Heat Up

‘Everyday Americans’ Honored at Address to Congress

Gaines, Women’s Rights Groups Support Women Appealing Case of Man Joining Sorority  

Male and Female Biology Matters

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports

Sorority Members Old and New, Feminists, Riley Gaines Band Together to Protect Women’s Spaces

What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

Image credit: Payton McNabb / Independent Women’s Forum

‘Everyday Americans’ Honored at Address to Congress

First lady Melania Trump invited “everyday Americans as special guests” to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Several guests had ties to family issues that are important to Focus on the Family, such as God’s design of humans as male and female; saving girls sports, serving children in the foster care system; and protecting parents’ rights to direct the educational upbringing of their children.

Attendees included family members of victims of violence, a mom whose parental rights were assailed by her daughter’s school, a young lady who had been a foster child, and a steelworker who, along with his wife, provided “a loving home to dozens of foster children.”

In addition, a few “surprise guests” attended the speech, including Jason Hartley, a young man was just accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and 13-year-old D.J. Daniel, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age seven. D.J. was made an honorary law enforcement officer of several police departments; Secret Service Director Sean Curran made him an agent of the U.S. Secret Service during the speech.

Here are three of the “everyday Americans” honored by the president and first lady involved in issues we care about.  

Payton McNabb – Athlete’s story demonstrates why we should respect the distinctions between male and female.  

The Independent Women’s Forum, where Payton serves as an ambassador, described how McNabb was injured by a transgender-identified male in a volleyball game her senior year of high school:

On September 1, 2022, during a volleyball game against a rival North Carolina high school, 17-year-old Payton McNabb received a devastating head and neck injury as the result of a spike by a male athlete who identified as transgender. …

The blow left her unconscious, and “the ball’s impact caused neurological impairments including a concussion, vision problems, and partial paralysis to the right side of her body.”

In a White House video posted on X, McNabb said she still deals with these health issues today.

The president told Payton that because of an executive order protecting girls and women’s sports, “From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding.

Jeff Denard – Hardworking father and his wife generously give time and love to children in foster care.

Melania Trump described Denard, saying, “Jeff has spent nearly three decades working at a steel plant owned by Nucor Steel. His good paying, middle class job at the steel plant has allowed Jeff to serve as volunteer firefighter, provide a loving home to dozens of foster children, and organize his fellow steelworkers to respond to natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene.”

In a post on X, Denard said he and his wife, Nicole, have been married for 25 years and have seven children. He explained their work in foster care, saying,

“My wife and I are also ranch managers of the Circle Ranch, out in Danvill, Alabama. We have about 38 children on-site. We have been fostering now for about three years and have had about 41 children through our homes.”

“We are so blessed. God’s been so good to us that we’re able to do this.”

The Circle Ranch defines its purpose:

Our mission is to provide a stable, supportive, and Christ-centered environment for these children and their foster families, as well as to equip and empower them for a successful future. We believe that every child deserves a chance to grow up in a family environment that reflects the love of God.

The ranch also serves as “a hub for other foster, adoptive, or kinship families in North Alabama,” adding, “Our aim is to create a network of support and resources for all the families who are involved in this noble and challenging calling.”

January Littlejohn – Mom’s story exposes threats to parental rights in education.

Almost five years ago, January and Jeffrey Littlejohn filed a lawsuit against the Leon County School Board for violating their parental rights by secretly affirming their daughter, who was only 13 years old at the time, in her gender confusion, as the Daily Citizen reported.

Three staff members met with the girl and developed a “Transgender/Non-Conforming Student Support Plan.” The staff asked the girl how she wanted to be identified, what pronouns to use when speaking about her, whether she wanted to use the girls or boys bathroom, and whether she felt more comfortable rooming with boys or girls on overnight trips – all without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

In a video on X describing what happened to their daughter, Littlejohn explained the damage inflicted on their daughter, saying, “We learned that the school had socially transitioned our daughter, where they asked her questions that would have absolutely impacted her safety and had harmful impacts on her psychological and physical well-being.”

She said that the school’s tactics were designed “to effectively deceive parents like us that these social transition plans ever happen.”

The first lady’s announcement about Littlejohn’s invitation described the harms from hiding information from parents, “The school drove a wedge between January’s daughter and her parents, and deceived January about their covert plan to transition her daughter.”

Related Articles and Resources

‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents

Florida Parents Sue School for Helping Teen ‘Transition’ – Without Their Knowledge or Consent

Male and Female Biology Matters

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

Foundational Values

Resources: Foster Care and Adoption

Wait No More

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

A biological man won the 400- and 200-meter dash at the USA Track and Field Open Masters Championships on Saturday, beating out women as young as 14 years old.

Sadie, formerly Camden, Schreiner, is no stranger to taking trophies from female athletes. The 21-year-old has broken numerous school and competition records since he began competing as a woman in 2023.

President Trump’s executive order prohibiting men in federally funded education programs from competing in women’s sports will prevent Schreiner from competing on the Rochester Institute of Technology’s track team.

But the order doesn’t apply to private organizations like USA Track and Field (USATF).

USATF abides by the International Olympic Committee’s rules, which allows men to compete in some women’s sports if they meet low testosterone thresholds. Schreiner claims estrogen injections have rendered his testosterone levels “undetectable.”

It hasn’t impacted his success. In the 200-meter, Schreiner beat 14-year-old Zwange Edwards, 16-year-old Zariah Hargrove, 15-year-old Leah Walker and 18-year-old Ainsley Rausch. At least four other athletes scheduled to race in this category did not participate. Schreiner’s only two competitors in the 400-meter, 17-year-old Anna Vidolova and 16-year-old Amaris Hiatt, were similarly absent.

It’s unclear whether the missing athletes declined to compete against a man or missed the races for other reasons.

On his Instagram page, Schreiner defended his participation in women’s track and field by arguing estrogen injections had worsened his performance enough to be “equitable.”

As an 18-year-old man, Schreiner’s fastest time in the 400-meter put him in the 87th percentile of all male runners his age. As a 21-year-old “woman,” his fastest time puts him in the 87th percentile of all female runners his age. This similarity in relative performance, he argues, should qualify him to compete against women.

Estrogen may have slowed Schreiner down, but it hasn’t changed his biological makeup. Men’s bodies are better suited to running fast, with more ergonomic bone structure, higher bone density, larger lung capacity and a more efficient vascular system.  

These biological advantages can’t be changed or negated. That means, if Schreiner were truly a woman, he would be performing much worse.

No matter how you slice it, the fact remains — a man handicapped by estrogen injections does not a women make.

It’s not an intellectually difficult argument, but, somehow, this author has a hard time believing the USATF will jump to protect female athletes anytime soon.

Additional Articles and Resources

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

NCAA Ban on Men in Women’s Sports ‘Toothless,’ Say Advocates, Gaines

Olympic Women’s Boxing Champ is Officially a Man

Shoving Girls Off the Podium: More Male Athletes Participating in Girls Sports

Olympic Privilege? Officials Protect Women’s Sports — But Only at the Highest Level

Male and Female Biology Matters

New Study: Testosterone Blockers and Female Hormones Don’t Erase Male-Female Athletic Differences

Iowa Governor Signs Bill ‘That Safeguards the Rights of Women and Girls’

After contentious hearings and demonstrations at the Iowa Capitol, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law protecting girls’ and women’s rights.

The new law, Senate File 418, defines “sex” in Iowa statutes as “the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth.” The measure also removes “gender identity” from nondiscrimination laws.

As legislators were considering the bill, transgender-identified protestors and their allies flooded the state Capitol, reported the Des Moines Register. “More than 2,000 LGBTQ rights supporters chanted, shouted and jeered in protest as House and Senate lawmakers passed the bill, sending it to Reynolds’ desk.”

The Gazette, a news outlet in Cedar Rapids, posted videos and photos from the protests. Protestors carried signs with the usual transgender slogans, such as “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” and “I’d rather have a TRANS daughter than a DEAD daughter.”

Here you can see some opponents of the bill singing, “We are singing, singing for our lives.”

The bill, of course, doesn’t take the lives or civil rights of transgender-identified people. Gender confused Iowans have all the same rights as other Iowans.

Adding spurious internal or socio-political identities, like “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI), to non-discrimination laws harms those who disagree with these sexual ideologies. Such legislation is based on the idea that a person’s identity is defined by sexual attractions, thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

As we’ve previously written in the Daily Citizen, SOGI laws, policies and regulations affect freedom of speech, parental rights, religious freedom, girls sports and the basic privacy, safety and dignity of women and men. 

Something is not a “civil right” if it threatens or strips others of their civil rights, which is what SOGI nondiscrimination laws do.

The Iowa House passed the measure with a vote of 60-36, while the Senate passed the bill with a vote of 33-15.

In a video and press statement about SF 418, Reynolds said, “Today, I am signing into law a bill that safeguards the rights of women and girls.”

“It is common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it is necessary to secure genuine equal protection for women and girls.”

The protections were necessary, the governor said, because the state’s “Civil Rights Code blurred the biological line between the sexes” and “forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries.”

The bill protects women in sex-segregated spaces and activities, the governor explained, saying:

It is why we have men and women’s bathrooms, but not men and women’s conference rooms; girls’ and boys’ sports, but not girls’ math and boys’ math; separate men and women’s prisons, but not different laws for men and women. It is about the biological differences, and that is all.

It is also why Iowa has enacted laws protecting girls’ sports for girls and women’s private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms.

She added that all people deserve “respect and dignity, concluding her statement by saying, “What this bill does accomplish is to strengthen protections for women and girls, and I believe that is the right thing to do.”

In addition to defining “sex,” here are some of the other definitions from SF 418 which will be used in state statutes:

  • Female – means an individual who has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, a reproductive system that at some point produces ova.
  • Male – means an individual who has, had, will have through the course of normal development, or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly, or accident, a reproductive system that at some point produces sperm.
  • “Woman” or “girl” refers to a female.
  • “Man” or “boy” refers to a male.
  • “Gender,” when used alone in reference to males, females, or the natural differences between males and females shall be considered a synonym for sex and shall not be considered a synonym or shorthand expression for gender identity, experienced gender, gender expression, or gender role.
  • The term “equal” does not mean “same” or “identical.”

The bill makes allowances for those with “a medically verifiable diagnosis of disorder or difference of sex development.” It allows for sex-segregated spaces in locker rooms, restrooms, prisons and shelters, and it forbids schools from promoting or instructing kindergarten through sixth grade students about sexual orientation or gender theory.

Related Articles and Resources:

Are Sex and Gender Different Things?

Department of Education Launches Multiple Investigations Into Title IX Violations

Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Dear Colleague Letter

Kansas Legislature Enacts ‘Help Not Harm’ Legislation, Overriding Governor’s Veto

Transgender Resources

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

What Are Male and Female in God’s Story?

Why a Trans Woman is a Not a Woman

Image from Shutterstock.