In response to a complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights alleging a male student competed on a women's volleyball team at a member college during two seasons and accessed women's locker rooms while the association ignored concerns raised by female athletes, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Department of Justice's (DOJ) Title IX Special Investigations Team (Title IX SIT) launched their formal investigation January 15.
Gracie Shaw, who was injured when a volleyball a male in the league spiked in her face, is one of the three athletes who filed the complaint.
The California Community College Athletic Association is reportedly continuing to violate Title IX with its policy that allows "a trans female…or non-binary student-athlete who has completed at least one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment…to compete on a women's team."
Steve McConkey, president of 4 WINDS USA, is glad to see the federal agencies "following through to create justice in this situation."
"They obviously want to keep men competing as women and pretending to be women, despite the trend that's going against it with 27 states that are now opposed to it," he observes.
This month, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., examining whether state bans on "transgender girls" in women's school sports violate federal law. McConkey predicts those rulings will favor female athletes.
He also agrees with Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey's assessment of the group's policy as "a stunning indictment of our culture" and her assertion that "women’s sports are for women."
"I'm pleased to see that the U.S. departments are finally putting teeth into the law and going after these people that violate common sense," McConkey tells AFN.
Campus Reform notes President Donald Trump has been working to restore protections for women in sports, including executive orders banning men from women's teams, NCAA policy changes, and the creation of this Title IX Special Investigations Team.
