The College Fix

State athletic officials ignore Trump’s executive order against men competing in women’s sports

A male athlete helped his girls’ track and field team secure a state championship earlier this week.

On Monday, John Rydzewski took first place in Maine’s Class B state championship for indoor track and field.

His vault, reaching 10 feet and 6 inches, was a full 6 inches higher than any of his female competitors. By contrast, he would have tied for 10th place had he competed against his own sex.

Rydzewski, now known as “Katie Spencer,” also helped his school defy President Donald Trump’s executive order forbidding schools that receive taxpayer funding from allowing men to compete against girls.

As Outkick reported:

Greely is a public school, which means it relies on government funding. According to Trump’s order, Greely would lose federal funds for allowing a male to compete in girls’ sports. However, the school also relies on state funding and Maine is one of the states that changed its discrimination definition to protect “gender identity” over biological reality.

Republican State Rep. Laurel Libby has criticized the victory.

“The decision by the Maine Principals’ Association to continue allowing male athletes to compete against female athletes in school athletic competitions is outrageous,” she told Outkick.

“Not only does their decision violate President Trump’s February 5 Executive Order, but it jeopardizes the safety and privacy of female athletes, all while allowing male athletes to take medals, trophies, and podium spots away from women, effectively erasing them,” Libby said.

The Maine Principals’ Association’s blatant disregard for federal rules means that deserving, BIOLOGICAL girls, have titles ripped away from them. This is outrageous, and unfair to the many female athletes who work every single day to succeed in their respective sports.

— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) February 18, 2025

“I urge the Trump Administration to move swiftly to ensure that female athletes in Maine can once again compete on a level playing field, preserving the integrity of women’s sports,” she said.

Trump’s executive order directs the U.S. Department of Education to use Title IX to enforce the ban on biological males who identify as female playing in women’s sports in both K-12 and higher education, as previously reported by The College Fix.

“We want our daughters to have the ability to compete in athletics competitions on a level playing field without biological boys and men invading their private spaces like locker rooms and taking away their opportunities for medals and scholarships,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, said in support of the executive order.

A United Nations report detailed some of the dominance of men in women’s sports.

“According to information received, by 30 March 2024, over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports,” the report stated.

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IMAGE: Laurel Libby/X

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