Virginia Governor Orders Ban on Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports and Locker Rooms

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order directing the state's Board of Health to develop regulations that would bar transgender women and girls from participating in female-only sports and from using female-designated locker rooms and other sex-segregated spaces. Youngkin framed the directive as necessary to protect the health, safety, privacy, dignity, and respect of women and girls, citing concerns about unfair competition and safety risks, including allegations of harassment in intimate spaces. The action follows petitions from female athletes and aligns with earlier policies under President Donald Trump that limited girls' sports participation to those assigned female at birth. The Virginia Board of Health has initiated the regulatory process by approving a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action, which will be subject to a public comment period before formal rules are drafted. While supporters like the Family Foundation praise the move for protecting girls' sports, LGBTQ advocacy groups, such as Southwest Virginia Pride, condemn it as exclusionary and harmful to transgender Virginians. The regulations are not yet in effect and will undergo further review and public input as part of the state's administrative process.