President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Maine over the state’s failure to comply with his executive order banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports teams at schools, marking an escalation in an ongoing feud between the state and federal government.

On April 16, the Department of Justice filed the lawsuit against Maine over its alleged violation of Title IX, a federal civil rights law banning sex discrimination in schools and colleges, for allowing transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams at schools. The lawsuit claims that Maine policies expose female athletes to “heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm” and “denies them equal athletic opportunities,” echoing misconceptions about transgender girls in sports, NPR reported.

Amid the ongoing battle between the state and the federal administration, local community members in Maine, including teachers, LGBTQIA+ advocates, and the governor, have adamantly pushed back on Trump’s fascism and punitive actions against the state.

“We’ve seen so much support for trans youth and trans folks in general coming together, whether that is individuals in certain communities standing up to school boards, or even [Maine Gov.] Janet Mills speaking directly to Donald Trump in support of trans people, which is so great to see, and something that I don’t think would be the same in a lot of different states if they were facing this issue,” Ellie Roy, the communications coordinator at Out Maine, told Prism.

A battle with the Trump administration

The ongoing feud between the state and federal government started in February, when Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby doxxed a transgender athlete in Maine in a social media post. In the post, she referenced the Maine Principals’ Association’s policy that allows transgender athletes to participate in scholastic sports in accordance with the Maine Human Rights Act, a longstanding law that grants protections from gender identity discrimination in employment, education, housing, and public accommodations.

Shortly after a meeting with governors on Feb. 21, Trump threatened to pull funding over the state’s refusal to comply with his executive order, resulting in a public spat with Mills.

Bre Danvers-Kidman, the executive co-director of Maine TransNet, told Prism that Libby’s attack thrust Maine into a national spotlight, prompting attention from Trump.

“Maine, for 20 years, has offered greater protection to trans people than the federal government requires us to. The president can’t just unilaterally sweep those protections away just because he feels like it. That’s not how the law works,” they said. 

The state and federal governments have continuously clashed over the issue this year, with judges blocking efforts to withhold federal funding. 

“At the federal level, trans youth in particular are being used as a scapegoat for a lot of different ongoing political issues [and] just being used as a weapon to further the agenda of more conservative folks, which is deeply unfortunate and completely unfair to that population who is already facing so much hate and discrimination,” Roy said.

Following an investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights determined on March 17 that the Maine Principals’ Association; the Maine Department of Education; and Greely High School in Cumberland Center, Maine were in violation of Title IX.

Both the association and the high school refused to comply with the executive order, despite the investigation’s conclusion that they would “continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act.”

Shortly after receiving a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on April 11, Greely High School was unable to access its funds for its child nutrition program, prompting the state to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration to reinstate access. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order the same day, ordering Trump to unfreeze Maine’s federal funds.

In an emailed statement to Prism, Maine Education Association President Jesse Hargrove said that although the funds given to Maine’s school districts are essential for its students and educators, “it is equally important to create affirming communities where all students, regardless of race or gender, are respected and safe.”

Allies stand in support of Maine’s transgender athletes

Several rallies have been held across towns in Maine this year. On March 23, transgender athletes, parents, and state representatives gathered at Greely High School to stand in solidarity with trans students. 

Danvers-Kidman, who also attended the protest, said the protest was especially heartwarming because it was led and organized by the community, rather than local LGBTQIA+ organizations.

“The support for the trans students in that school was overwhelming. It is clearly a majority that is completely fine with the trans girls, trans people in general, participating in school sports. It should be a nonissue,” Roy said.

Stacie Bourassa, a parent of a transgender athlete who attended the protest with her husband Andrew, told Prism that she wanted to cry seeing thousands of people supporting transgender students.

“That day showed me we have a majority. We have common sense. We want to support our youth and people of all identities, so we are not the minority,” she said.

Prism reached out to several trans athletes in Maine, who declined to comment due to doxxing risks.

Transgender people fight for belonging in sports

The Bourassas’ transgender child was a top student athlete growing up, playing several sports and engaging in various extracurricular activities at school. But he “knew firsthand how unwelcoming” his peers and teachers were, Stacie Bourassa said, noting that he experienced discrimination and hostility that led him to quit school sports at age 15. 

“It was a very painful experience to see his options limited as just an exceptional, remarkable member of his school community, with a lot of privilege and resources and still not those options of equal participation,” she said, adding that her child is now thriving as an adult. 

Stacie explained that the debate on transgender kids in sports is a red herring, and that if it were a real issue for transgender kids to play on their school sports teams, then “we would have heard about it 40 years ago, way back when trans people started openly competing in sports.” 

“It’s not really about supporting kids or supporting women’s sports. They’re not putting resources toward that. We know they’re underfunded. They don’t have the things they need,” Andrew Bourassa said. “These bills are about exclusion. They’re not about inclusion.” 

Since his presidential campaign, Trump has spread transphobic rhetoric and been a strong opponent of transgender inclusion in sports, among other transgender rights.

Opponents argue that transgender girls have an unfair advantage over athletes who were assigned female at birth. However, experts argue that there is a lack of evidence to support this claim. According to the American Civil Liberties Union and medical experts, transgender athletes’ abilities vary, similar to cisgender athletes, and everyone has different advantages regardless of gender. 

Andrew added that research has shown that transgender student athletes gain much from participating in sports, including resilience and skill-building that enables them to become successful individuals. 

Roy said that a blanket ban on transgender girls’ participation in school sports won’t just hurt transgender people, but all girls, especially girls of color, because it could result in them being subjected to invasive gender tests. While these tests aren’t being proposed in Maine, they’re happening in other states like Texas as part of a new transgender policy, with a proposed requirement that athletes who compete in women’s sports undergo these tests. 

“It blatantly violates their privacy, and that will become the reality if bans like this were to go into effect. That’ll affect not just trans girls, but all girls, all kids in general,” she said. “It’s going to make school communities really fearful and distrustful of the leadership in the state and at the school level, not to mention also confusion for students, families, educators, everybody.” 

She continued: “This sports ban is just a way to further misogyny, the idea that girls can’t be strong on their own, and if they are strong, then ‘Oh, they must have been born a man,’ which is so discriminatory and hateful and just honestly disgusting.” 

Maine refuses to back down

Following the lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against Maine, both Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey released statements once again emphasizing their refusal to back down.

“This matter has never been about school sports or the protection of women and girls, as has been claimed, it is about states rights and defending the rule of law against a federal government bent on imposing its will, instead of upholding the law,” Mills said, adding that she will “vigorously defend [the] state.”

Danvers-Kidman said this battle with the administration distracts from other issues transgender people are facing under this administration, such as a policy that bars changing gender markers on passports and the use of the “X” marker for gender identification.

Despite Trump’s ongoing attacks and threats built on debunked myths about transgender people, LGBTQIA+ advocates anticipate that state leaders and community members won’t back down or give in.

“Speaking from my own perspective, we are not willing to compromise on trans rights or queer rights in general. And that is the mindset that most organizations here in Maine are operating under. We will continue to fight,” Roy said. 

Editorial Team:
Carolyn Copeland, Lead Editor
Lara Witt, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor

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