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Fox News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maine teens battling state Democrats on girls' sports bill after enduring trans athlete chaos in high school
A four-woman squad of Presque Isle High School student athletes helped lead a march on Maine's state Capitol building in Augusta last week. They went to spar with state legislature Democrats over three bills that would ban biological males from girls' sports – an issue that has sent their state and sports seasons spiraling into chaos in 2025. For three of them, it was their first political rally, and they were taking center stage. They had to wade through pro-transgender counter-protesters outside the building, and dismissive liberal lawmakers inside it. "It was a little intimidating knowing they don't have the same beliefs as us," Hailey Himes, a first-time protester, told Fox News Digital. But Himes said she realized she had to join the fight to protect girls' sports from trans athletes when her English teacher assigned her an essay on the subject on March 12. Just one month before that, Himes and other female athletes witnessed the pole vault jump that plunged their state into a national conflict, when a trans athlete won first place in girls' pole vault for Greely High School in early February. "I watched this male pole vaulter stand on the podium and we were all just like looking we were like 'We're pretty sure that's not a girl. There's no way that's a girl,'" Himes said. "It was really discouraging, especially for the girls on the podium not in first place. So that motivated me to fight for them." So Himes, along with her track and field teammates Lucy Cheney and Carrlyn Buck, marched on Augusta, following the lead of fellow Presque Isle track athlete Cassidy Carlisle, who has already taken part in two marches in Augusta and trips to Washington, D.C., to meet with GOP leaders on the issue. The group had gained plenty of experience in dealing with controversies involving trans athlete, close to home for years together. Years earlier, the girls saw their high school rocked by a situation involving a trans athlete, when a biological male joined the girls' tennis team. "We all heard of it from friends and none of us do tennis so it was just kind of a word of mouth kind of thing," Cheney said. "At that point we couldn't really do anything about it because the administration agreed to let them play so we really just had to accept it, and really no one else on the team really wanted to accept it, but they had to." All four girls added that it quickly became one of the most-discussed topics in Presque Isle High School when it first happened, and it continued throughout the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, before the trans athlete graduated last summer. Now, this year, they've all had to compete under the shadow of a national conflict between their state and President Donald Trump because Gov. Janet Mills and the Democratic majority have committed to keeping trans athletes in girls' sports. Mills' stance risks costing the state's high schools federal funding, while leaving Carlisle, Himes, Cheney, Buck and their teammates facing the anxiety of competing against trans athletes in the state's track and field playoffs. When the four teens got into the Capitol on Thursday, they came face to face with the individuals who were fighting to keep trans athletes in their sports. The Maine legislature's Democratic majority has been actively and aggressively resisting the Trump administration for months over the president's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. But now three Republican-backed bills – LD 868, LD 233 and LD 1134 – were on their own floor to reverse its policy, and over a dozen Maine high school girls' athletes were there to fight the Democrats for it. "They definitely asked a lot less questions to the people who they didn't agree with than the people who they did agree with, and you could tell they did not feel as compassionate," Cheney said of the Democratic leaders. "They got emotional just when [pro-trans speakers] were sharing, and it seemed like they really cared for them, and they wanted to support them, and it didn't feel as much as they wanted to hear our side." Buck said that when the Democrats did come to them with questions, they seemed "hostile." "They just seemed more hostile toward our testimonies when they did ask questions," Buck said. "It felt like a lot of questions were being pestering." Still, the teens made sure to let everyone in the chamber know what it was they were dealing with, as the trans athletes competing in Maine's track and field playoffs threaten to upend their entire season. A trans-identifying athlete who competed for North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, Maine, recently dominated the girls' 800-meter and 1600-meter events at the Poland-NYA-Yarmouth-Seacoast meet, prompting national outrage. "For my teammates, and some of my best friends on the team that are in the events with [the trans athletes], it's really unfortunate for them, and just our team as a whole because those points will impact our team ranking," Himes said, adding that another local girl suggested her parents won't allow her to compete in the same event with a trans athlete. Buck added, "It's not just about the points, it's also that our teammates are going to feel discouraged when placed in an event against them because they're going in already knowing that the outcome is decided, with playing against a biological male who is biologically stronger than them, so they have no chance." Carlisle is already very familiar with that feeling of defeat, having lost to the same athlete who dominated the Poland-NYA-Yarmouth-Seacoast meet in past running and skiing competitions, dating back to 2023. On top of that, she first had to experience changing in the same locker room with a male in seventh grade when a trans student was in her gym class. But even now, as an ascending crusader against trans inclusion in girls' sports, having attended marches, meetings of GOP attorneys general and even a Department of Justice press conference announcing a lawsuit against Maine over the issue, she says she still has a friend who is transgender. "I communicate with them almost on the daily, we never have negative interactions," Carlisle said. "For people that want to say we're not accepting, that's not the problem. We don't have a problem in general with trans people. We have a problem when it starts to impact our lives." Carlisle has saved her resentment, not for trans people, or even the trans athletes, but for Mills. "She is directly looking at us and saying 'I don't care about you,'" Carlisle said. "When I vote next time, I'll absolutely take that into consideration." All four teens plan on making regular trips to the state Capitol to lobby on behalf of LD 868, LD 233, and LD 1134 until they are signed into law, as they seek to keep males out of their sports, and keep federal funding going to their schools. "Our schools need federal funding," Carlisle said. "So for [Mills], now she's not just looking at Maine girl athletes and saying 'I don't really care about you.' She's looking at students in Maine and saying 'I don't care about you and I don't care if your school gets funding, because I'm going to pick a fight that really doesn't need to be picked.'" The DOJ has accused the state of "openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls," according to a complaint obtained by Fox News Digital. Mills, the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Principals' Association have held firmly in support of continuing to enable trans inclusion in girls' sports across the state, citing the Maine Human Rights Act as the precedent for determining gender eligibility. Meanwhile, two Maine school districts have already taken matters into their own hands, as MSAD No. 70 and RSU No. 24 have each moved to amend their own policies to keep trans athletes out of girls' sports. And in addition to those school districts and young women like Carlisle, Buck, Himes and Cheyney, Mills and the Democrats may ultimately end up facing more internal resistance than external. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said that school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls' sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18. But so far, the governor has remained firm in opposing Trump on the issue, even at the cost of taxpayer-funded legal fees. "I'm happy to go to court and litigate the issues that are being raised in this court complaint," Mills told reporters in April. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Fox News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maine lawmaker Laurel Libby reflects on trans athlete post that thrust her into potential Supreme Court battle
A Feb. 17 Facebook post has become a catalyst for political history in Maine. And it could soon be the topic of Supreme Court testimony. That day, state Rep. Laurel Libby used the social media site to identify an athlete who had just rocked a high school track meet. The athlete took first place in girls' pole vault Maine State Class B Championship, propelling Greely High School to a girls' state title. It was already big local news, as the Portland Press Herald published a recap the same day Libby made the post, which also identified the athlete by name. But Libby's post pointed out that the athlete finished fifth in a boys' competition, just two years earlier. "I had been talking with a mom, friend of mine, who has had a child in track in Maine for a long, long time," Libby told Fox News Digital. "She told me there was a biological male who was probably going to win the girls' state-wide pole vault championship, and sure enough, he did… I looked at the image of the second-place girls, and that's who should have been in first place." The post went viral and thrust Maine, Greely High School and the athlete into the bull's-eye of the national trans athlete debate. Libby said no one from the school or the athlete's family ever reached out to her about the post. "I never heard from them or the school," Libby said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Greely High School for comment. The first person Libby says she heard from that took issue with her post was Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who she is now suing for censuring her over the post. "He found it objectionable and asked me to take it down, at the same time I asked him if he would support Maine girls, and support policy that stopped discrimination against Maine young women in sports and he declined to answer," Libby said. "The main criticism all along from the Democrats is that it was a picture of a minor." Libby said families of other students at Greely High School have reached out to her as the issue has progressed. "[They] have encouraged me because they don't agree with biological males participating in girls' sports, and given their relationship with the school, they can't say that publicly," Libby said. "We've seen this become a big talking point in the Greely, Cumberland area." A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that about 63% of Maine voters said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it's "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." Greely's District, MSAD #51, has previously provided a statement in support of its eligibility policies. "The MSAD #51 Board of Directors is guided by the Mission, Vision, and Core Values of our district. This includes promoting a safe, caring and ethical learning environment where each person will be treated with respect and fairness; and individuals are recognized, valued and supported," the district said in a statement. Libby's post came during a holiday week off. When students returned the following week, they were greeted by police protection in response to the national scrutiny Libby's posts drew to the school. "I think law enforcement exorcised an abundance of caution, and thankfully there was no risk to the students," Libby said. Now, two and a half months later, the state is in a conflict with the federal government over the issue of trans athletes in girls' sports, while Libby is making a case for Supreme Court intervention in her lawsuit against Fecteau. Fecteau and Maine's Democrat majority censured Libby for the post on Feb. 25, and originally offered to restore her voting and speaking rights if she apologized for the post. But Libby told them right away she wouldn't apologize. "The real reason I was censured is in political retaliation for pointing out a policy that most Mainers do not agree with," Libby said. Instead, she filed her lawsuit against Fecteau on March 11. But Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose ruled against Libby in her case on April 22. DuBose, appointed by former President Joe Biden in January, ended up presiding over the case after every district judge in Maine refused to take it. Judges John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen signed recusal orders shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was given. DuBose ended up with the case, and ruled in favor of Fecteau. Then, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Libby. This past Monday, Libby announced she would appeal to the Supreme Court for emergency intervention. "We haven't fully had our day in court yet, I look forward to continuing that process," Libby said when asked if she believes she's had a fair trial. Libby says she expects to hear if the Supreme Court will hear the case by Monday, May 5. So far, the state representative has visibly had the federal government on her side, especially President Donald Trump's administration. The U.S. Justice Department announced a lawsuit against the state of Maine for its continued defiance of Trump's executive order to keep biological males out of girls' and women's sports and violations of Title IX. Libby attended the press conference alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon. The Department of Agriculture cut federal funding to the state, which then sued the administration. A federal judge has already ruled the funding must be unfrozen. Internally, many Mainers have already taken steps to align themselves with Libby and Trump's side on the issue. There have been two large-scale protests in the state's capital of Augusta, and one school district in the state, MSAD #70, is already moving to institute its own policy to ban trans athletes from girls' sports. Now, Libby's SCOTUS appeal will come as the tension between the state and Trump intensifies. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt referenced "prosecutions" as a consequence for violating federal law while discussing the administration's intentions on the issue. "When Maine decided not to follow [Trump's executive order], the Department of Justice sued them. So anyone who disobeys federal law will be prosecuted, sued, or say 'goodbye' to your federal funding," Leavitt told reporters at a press conference Monday. Libby did not rule out prosecution as a warranted response if her state continues to defy Trump on the issue. "We've seen so much occur in the last two months, that we certainly can't rule anything out," Libby said when asked about potential prosecution to officials in her state. "I hope that it wouldn't come to that. I would hope we can all agree that our young women shouldn't be discriminated against." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Fox News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maine attorney general says 'there are no concerns of safety' by letting trans athletes play in girls' sports
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey addressed the lawsuit filed against his state by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday over the state's stance regarding transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports. In an interview with CNN, Frey defended his state's continued support for trans inclusion, insisting that "there are no issues of safety" for letting biological males compete with girls. "We've been working though to understand what, if any problem, exists with the participation. If some of the harms that are being alleged really are of some concern and what we've identified, there really are no concerns of safety," Frey said. Frey also said there are "no concerns" about trans athletes who are "just choosing" to compete in the girls' category. "There are no concerns about individuals who are just choosing which gender they want to give themselves in order to participate. So that too is really after a lot to work on whether or not there's any issue here that warrants this intrusion by the federal government on what's going on in Maine schools," Frey said. National awareness of trans athletes in Maine was ignited when state Rep. Laurel Libby identified a pole vault jumper who won a girls' competition for Greely High School after competing in the boys' category in previous seasons. Safety concerns over trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports were heightened nationally after former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb suffered a concussion, brain bleed and permanent whiplash after getting struck in the face with a volleyball hit by a trans athlete. Still, Frey insists that safety and competitive concerns are not on the radar of the Democratic officials in Maine, claiming they are only currently aware of two trans athletes competing in girls' sports in the state. "There is just a small number of trans students who are participating in sports, that two number is all that we've come up with," Frey said. He also suggested that Maine is following both state and federal law by allowing trans inclusion in girls' sports. "Our position is that Title IX, consistent with the Maine Human Rights Act, so both federal and state law, supports that trans girls will be able to participate in high school sports consistent with their gender identity," Frey said. "So my contention is Maine is following Title IX, Maine is following the Maine Human Rights Act." U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the lawsuit at a press conference on Wednesday morning. Bondi said they were seeking an injunction and have titles returned to the girls who "rightfully" won competitions in which trans athletes participated in. The Justice Department accused the state of "openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls," according to a complaint obtained by Fox News. "By prioritizing gender identity over biological reality, Maine's policies deprive girl athletes of fair competition, deny them equal athletic opportunities, and expose them to heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm," the complaint added. The complaint also said the U.S. will seek "judgment granting declaratory injunctive, and damages relief for Defendant's violations of Title IX and the federal funding contracts it signed promising to comply with Title IX and its implementing regulations." Maine Gov. Janet Mills released a statement later on Wednesday in response to the lawsuit. "Today is the latest, expected salvo in an unprecedented campaign to pressure the State of Maine to ignore the Constitution and abandon the rule of law. This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law. Federal Judge Woodcock's ruling of last Friday awarding the state a temporary restraining order reinforces our position that the federal government has been acting unlawfully," the statement read in part. Meanwhile, a school district in Maine is moving to comply with Trump instead of the state over the issue. The MSAD #70 School Board voted unanimously on Monday night to comply with Title IX, and Superintendent Tyler Putnam told Fox News Digital that he will amend the district's policies to prevent trans athletes from competing in girls' sports. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AG Bondi takes Maine to court over transgender athletes
The ongoing war to prohibit biological men from competing in women's sports has reached new heights, as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced her office will be taking Maine to court over the matter. 'Maine's leadership has refused to comply at every turn, so now we have no other choice. We are taking them to court,' Bondi said at a press conference, Wednesday. The federal government is seeking both an injunction to get Maine to comply and to return titles 'to the young women who rightfully won these sports.' Bondi added, 'And we are also considering whether to retroactively pull all the funding that they have received for not complying in the past.' Bondi referenced a recent incident from February of this year where a transgender competitor going by the name 'Katie' won the Class B girls state championship in pole vaulting for Cumberland's Greely High School. The student had previously competed on the men's high school team 'as a mid-level athlete,' reported The Maine Wire. The publication added that Katie's score would have placed the athlete 10th in the boys competition. 'He beat every other girl by a significant margin. That qualified him for regional championships. That took a spot away from a young woman in women's sports,' Bondi said at the press conference. Bondi then read a letter from Aaron Frey, Maine's attorney general, addressed to the Department of Education, refusing to comply with the U.S. attorney general's request to prohibit biological men from competing in women's sports. 'We will not sign the resolution agreement. We do not have revisions or a counter proposal. We agree we are at an impasse. Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibit schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls' and women's sports teams,' Bondi read. 'Well they must not be reading the same Title IX that we're reading,' she said. Bondi continued, 'I don't care if it's one, I don't care if it's two, I don't care if it's 100 — it's going to stop, and it's going to stop in every single state." Disagreements over transgender issues between Maine and the federal government do not end with women's sports. The Justice Department also pulled $1.5 million in grants from Maine's Corrections Department for allowing a biological man to be sentenced to and reside in a women's prison, per The New York Times. 'We don't want to be suing people,' Bondi said. 'We want them to comply with the law, and that's what we're doing. We have given them (Maine) opportunity ... over and over again.' Bondi added that the Department of Education and the HHS met with Maine representatives multiple times in person 'and got nowhere,' so the lawsuit is 'because they refused to protect young women in their state.' Bondi said her office decided to pull the million and a half dollars in grants 'because we saw they allowed a 6'1″, 245 (lbs) giant man who had violently murdered his parents with a knife and the family dog, serving life in prison." 'And he chose to identify as a woman,' Bondi said. 'So guess where he's being held. In a female prison in Maine. So therefore, we don't want to give any more money to the department of corrections in Maine if that's how they're going to act.' A reporter asked Bondi if her office planned on taking any other states to court as well. Bondi mentioned active investigations in Minnesota and California. 'We have reached out to them, we have sent them letters,' she said. 'We are in the same posture we were in the beginning here with Maine. So let's see what they do. Let's see if they comply.' 'We don't want to sue anyone,' Bondi continued. 'We just want you to comply with federal law and protect girls. But yes, we are fully prepared to sue them and others that we will be looking at as well.'
Fox News
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Federal judge rules Trump administration must 'unfreeze' funds to Maine as trans battle lingers
A federal judge said the Trump administration must lift their freeze on federal funding to Maine. The ruling reads that the USDA "must immediately unfreeze and release to the state of Maine any federal funding that they have frozen or failed or refused to pay because of the state of Maine's alleged failure to comply with the requirements of Title IX." The administration is also "barred from freezing, terminating, or otherwise interfering with the state of Maine's future federal funding for alleged violations of Title IX without complying with the legally required procedure." The USDA announced the funding freeze and a review of federal funding to Maine earlier this month after the state refused to provide equal opportunities to women and girls in educational programs. The state has refused to comply with President Donald Trump's February executive order to ban trans athletes from girls' and women's sports, prompting immense federal pressure. Trump initially vowed to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with the order during a Feb. 20 speech. Maine officials filed a lawsuit against the USDA on Monday following the agency's decision to freeze funding to the state. The state accused the USDA of "withholding funding used to feed children in schools, childcare centers, and after-school programming as well as disabled adults in congregate settings," an argument the judge agreed with. The judge noted that the freeze was due to Title IX violations, but it "restricted" the ability to "provid[e] meals to children and vulnerable adults." Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, recently called for the issues between the administration and her state to be "resolved," saying that she would continue to fight for federal funding for the state while also being against transgender athletes in biological female sports. The Department of Education also launched an investigation into the state due to the issue. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) referred the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to the Department of Justice Friday for continuning to allow trans athletes to compete in girls sports. It's the second DOJ referral the state's educational institutions have faced in the last month over the issue, after the Department of Health and Human Services referred MDOE, the Maine Principals' Association and Greely High School March 28. After Trump signed an executive order to ban trans athletes from women's and girls' sports Feb. 5, Maine was one of the many states that openly defied the order. The state's divide on trans inclusion was then brought to light when Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby identified a trans athlete in a social media post who won a girls pole vault competition for Greely High School that month. Libby was censured by Maine's Democratic majority and Speaker Ryan Fecteau for the post, which has prevented her from carrying out other legislative actions to serve her constituents. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
