Virginia governor quietly scraps proposal to keep men out of women’s sports

Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration quietly ended a regulatory effort launched under former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that sought to prevent men from competing in women’s sports and entering certain female-designated private spaces.

The administration withdrew the proposed action July 30 without issuing a news release or public announcement, according to OutKick and local outlets. The decision attracted broader attention in September after reporters discovered the change on Virginia’s regulatory website, which lists the action as withdrawn after the end of its public comment period.

The rulemaking sought to create regulations preventing males from participating in female-only teams and competitions. It also sought to prevent males from entering female-designated spaces where women or girls could be undressed, including some bathrooms and locker rooms.

The regulatory process began after female athletes Réka György, Lily Mullens, and Carter Satterfield petitioned the board in April 2025 to keep men out of female-only sports and spaces, stating in the petition that males competing in women’s collegiate sports had “directly harmed” them. 

The Board of Health voted 14-0 in August 2025 to grant the petition and begin the regulatory process. Youngkin subsequently approved the notice of intended regulatory action, which entered a public comment period that ended in December 2025. 

Spanberger later said her administration had concluded that the board lacked the legal authority to impose the proposed rules. 

“There’s no legal authority to move forward with rulemaking, and prior administrations may have tried to create lanes, and we’re not doing that,” Spanberger told Radio IQ after speaking at a Sept. 12 Virginia Pridefest in Richmond.

Radio IQ reported that people close to Spanberger said the governor did not want to “bring additional fights that some may be really willing to create.” 

State Sen. Tara Durant, a Republican, told ABC affiliate 7News that she suspected Spanberger ended the process quietly due to polling she said shows that 75% to 80% of Americans oppose men in women’s sports. 

“The vast majority of people ultimately — they want our girls to be able to have fairness when they compete,” Durant said.

“I'm the parent of two daughters myself, and especially in their spaces as well, they feel pretty darn strongly about that,” she added, according to the outlet. “This is a matter of safety as well as fairness for them.”

György, a Hungarian Olympian who swam against William (Lia) Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships, criticized Spanberger’s decision, saying the proposed regulations would have better protected female athletes’ fairness, privacy, and safety. She told 7News that the issue was personal to her because she had spent years advocating for women’s sports and helped petition the state for the proposed protections. 

“It is difficult for me to see decisions being made that I believe could negatively affect women and girls,” György said, adding that “women should not have to lose opportunities or their sense of privacy simply because those in positions of power have the ability to change the rules.”