'Deeply unfair': DOJ uses Gavin Newsom's words against California in lawsuit to ban transgender athletes from girls' high school sports

FILE – President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File).

The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit against California”s Department of Education (CDE) on Wednesday, in a bid to ban transgender female athletes from competing in girls’ high school sports, calling the practice “deeply unfair” — just as the state’s Democratic governor put it during a podcast with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

The DOJ Civil Rights Division’s lawsuit, also filed against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, notes that Title IX states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

CDE does receive such federal funds, in excess of $40 billion for 2025, and CIF is under CDE’s purview, so that gives the government standing to sue both entities for permanent injunctive relief and to force them to “prohibit[] the participation of males in athletic competitions designated for females” at “all California CIF member schools,” said the DOJ.

Not only did the state’s governor say it was unfair, as the DOJ interpreted the remark, “for girls to compete against boys,” but the complaint also said CIF’s own recent policy choices were designed with the understanding of an unequal playing field, as transgender athlete AB Hernandez was on the verge of advancing to the state track and field finals. Hernandez went on to win gold in the high jump and triple jump.

“At the May 2025 CIF State Track and Field championships, a male competed against girls in the girls’ high jump, triple jump, and long jump,” the DOJ lawsuit said. “A few days before the championship meet, on May 27 and 28, 2025, CIF implemented a pilot entry process, by which ‘a biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark will also be advanced to the finals.'”

“The CIF also announced that ‘if necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,” the complaint added.

That CIF’s statement referenced “a biological female student-athlete” and adjusted policy to provide for an additional qualifying spot and, if need be, a medal opportunity was a recognition of the “inherent athletic advantage males have over ‘biological female[s]’ and that allowing males to compete in female athletic competitions displaces girls and denies girls equal athletic opportunities,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ, in an apparent effort to follow through on President Donald Trump’s threat to pull California’s funding, said the Golden State’s “illegal” and “discriminatory” policies mean that “girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition” by denying them the “opportunity to compete in student sports on a level playing field in which they have the same opportunities as boys.”

The complaint further raised concerns about the “privacy, dignity, and safety” of “female-only spaces” when policies “require” inclusion of a transgender classmate.

“Not only do Defendants’ policies and actions eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls but they also require girls to share intimate spaces, such as locker rooms, with boys, causing a hostile educational environment that denies girls educational opportunities,” the complaint continued.

The DOJ is now demanding the banning of transgender female athletes from being able to participate in California high school competitions that align with their gender identity. The government additionally contemplates forcing the state to “compensate female athletes who have been denied equal athletic opportunities due to Defendants’ violations, including correcting past athletics records.”

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The DOJ lawsuit was brought by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California and Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general in the civil rights division.

Dhillon said in a statement that the lawsuit was about combatting “woke gender ideology.”

“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination. The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” Dhillon said in a statement on the case. “Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”