After Trump trans athlete ban, IHSA says it's in ‘untenable position'

Yahoo

19-04-2025

The Brief
The IHSA, which governs Illinois high school sports, says it's in an "untenable position" after a Trump executive order banning transgender athletes from girls sports.
The association said it's been told that complying with the executive order could violate state law.
Republican state lawmakers asked IHSA what it would do to change its current policy in light of Trump's executive order.
The governing body for high school sports in Illinois told Republican state lawmakers this week that it is in an "untenable position" about whether to allow transgender athletes to compete in sporting events.
The backstory
The issue came up after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 5 banning the participation of transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports in schools.
On March 18, Republican members of the Illinois House of Representatives sent a letter to IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson asking the body what it will do to change its policy of allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports to comply with Trump's executive order.
The IHSA must grant eligibility for a transgender student to compete in "gender specific state series athletic events or activities," according to the association's policy.
Then, last Tuesday, IHSA officials sent a letter back to the GOP lawmakers saying that the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Human Rights said that state law requires that transgender athletes be allowed to participate in competitions aligning with their gender identity.
"As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa," wrote IHSA Board President Dan Tully and Anderson.
They added, "The IHSA simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law. Given the conflict described above, however, we are left in an untenable position."
What they're saying
The IHSA officials asked state lawmakers and other elected officials to "work together with federal authorities to provide clear direction on this issue."
In response to that letter, House GOP Leader Tony McCombie, who represents parts of the northwest corner of the state, criticized the IHSA.
"The IHSA has once again chosen deflection over direction, and ambiguity over action," McCombie said in a statement. "Their response is not just late—it's weak. Saying, 'It's not our problem,' doesn't serve the students of this state. It's not leadership—it's a cop-out."
McCombie also referenced the possibility of a loss of federal funding if the IHSA doesn't comply with the executive order. The IHSA said it does not receive state or federal funding.