IHSA Responds to Illinois Legislators About Trump’s Executive Order Prohibiting Men from Competing in Women’s Sports
On February 5, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports. The executive order focuses on the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports. It intends to restore the opportunity for women to safely and fairly participate in and excel in competitive sports. EO 14201 notes that definitions in Executive Order (EO) 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, are to be applied. The definitions of sex, women, men, female, and male are based on scientific and biological standards, excluding the social construct of gender identity.
State Senator Sue Rezin, March 26, 2025, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EU37eXvrN/
EO 14201 states, “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
Executive Order 14201 directs the Secretary of Education to prioritize Title IX enforcement actions against educational institutions that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls' and women's sports. This could result in the potential loss of federal funding for schools that do not comply.
Illinois Senator Sue Rezin, representing the 38th District, recently joined her Republican colleagues to ask the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) executive director, Craig Anderson, to clarify how they plan to handle athlete eligibility policy updates that would align with the recent Executive Orders. A letter, sent to Director Anderson on March 17, 2025, requested a written response detailing IHSA’s plan.
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, Senator Rezin posted on Facebook to express her disappointment with IHSA’s response.
“To say I’m disappointed with their response would be an understatement,” said Senator Rezin.
The letter from IHSA Board President Dan Tully and IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson expressed concerns about the conflict between EO 14201 and the Illinois Human Rights Act, which they felt left them in an impossible situation. The reply requested that state officials work with federal authorities to give them an unencumbered path forward.
In a press release, Senator Rezin continued to vent her disapproval of IHSA’s response.
“Rather than providing any real clarity or commitment to protecting fairness in girls' sports, the IHSA essentially shrugged and passed the responsibility elsewhere,” stated Senator Rezin.
State Senator Sue Rezin, (April 16, 2025), Senator Rezin Responds to IHSA Letter on Fairness in Girls’ Sports: “Disappointed by the Lack of Clarity”[Press Release]
She expressed how she was troubled by the IHSA's inability to answer a simple question.
Senator Rezin said, “The fact that they could not or would not answer that question is troubling. Female athletes deserve to know they are competing on a level playing field.”
The ongoing conflicts between federal and state directives, legal challenges, potential loss of federal funding, and a lack of clarity from organizations like IHSA will leave Illinois schools confused about how to create or revise policies. Taxpayers, parents, and women athletes will be caught in the middle.
“We are hearing from parents and students across the state who are looking for leadership, consistency, and fairness,” Rezin said.
Senator Rezin vowed to continue fighting and advocating for student athletes.
She stated, “This is not complicated. It is common sense.”