Legislation proposed in the Virginia General Assembly last week by State Senator Tammy Brankley Mulchi (R-Clarksville) would require student-athletes to provide a written statement by a physician that affirms they seek to participate in a sports team that corresponds to their biological gender, prevents biological males from playing on teams designated for girls, under the threat of civil litigation.
Blankley Mulchi’s SB 749 would require schools to clearly state whether sports teams are male, female, or coed and mandate that any team participating in the Virginia High School Sports League that “is expressly designated for ‘females,’ ‘women,’ or ‘girls'” must “not be open to any student of the male sex.”
The legislation would also require that “[t]he biological sex of any student seeking to participate” on gendered teams to be “affirmed by a signed physician’s statement.”
SB 749 would additionally prohibit discrimination against schools that adopt these policies, while schools without them could be sued for depriving female students of athletic opportunities.
Should a biological female be passed over in favor of a biologically male student who identifies as a transgender female or otherwise experience “any direct or indirect harm as a result of a school knowingly” failing to adhere to the law, “shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief available under law against such school, athletic association, or organization.”
A summary of the legislation explains, “The bill requires that the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on such an expressly designated team be affirmed by a signed physician’s statement. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male.”
Blankley Mulchi’s proposed legislation comes years after Virginia made national headlines when a father was arrested in Loudoun County while confronting school board members after his daughter was sexually assaulted by a transgender student in a school bathroom.
Youngkin later pardoned the father in September 2023, only months after Virginia changed its policies to require teachers and school workers to obtain parental permission to refer to a student by a pronoun that does not correspond to their biological gender.
Other parts of the country have gone further, as in Mississippi, where lawmakers passed legislation barring transgender athletes in schools, colleges, and universities from competing in women’s sports.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
