Federal Court Upholds WV Female Sports Law Similar to Arkansas’

On Thursday a federal district court upheld West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act that prevents males who claim to be female from competing in women’s athletics.

West Virginia’s law is similar to Arkansas Act 461 of 2021 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover).

Act 461 prevents male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school.

Laws like these protect fairness in women’s sports.

Over the past few years we have seen biological males dominate women’s athletics in some parts of the country.

For example, in 2019 Rachel McKinnon — a biological male who claims to be female — won the female Cycling World Championship.

More recently, biologically male athlete Lia Thomas shattered women’s swimming records and was even nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Letting males compete in girls’ sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases girls’ athletics.

It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.

That is part of the reason states like Arkansas, Texas, and West Virginia have enacted laws that uphold fairness in women’s sports.

It’s great to see our federal courts recognize that these types of laws are constitutional. Good court rulings like this one protect fairness in girls’ sports at school.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.