At least 15 Republican-led states have sued the Biden administration after the Department of Education released revised Title IX regulations, arguing the move will strip females of single-sex spaces and males of due process rights. Since mid-April, Texas, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida are among the states contesting the administration’s revision of the regulations, which prohibit sex discrimination in federally funded schools and higher education programs. 

President Joe Biden is making good on his 2020 campaign promise to transgender voters. The rules will take effect Aug. 1. But this radical revision pits traditional views on gender, sexuality, and due process against the administration’s adoption of the left-wing agenda, which will undoubtedly result in dozens of legal challenges at the local and state level.

Biden sets off string of lawsuits

The Texas lawsuit takes aim at executive decisions and the idea that Title IX was rooted in biological distinctions between sexes that this progressive administration wants to ignore. “Stymied in its attempts to implement this agenda through informal agency guidance, and unable to amend Title IX through the legislative process, the Department has now formally amended the Code of Federal Regulations. This Final Rule tells States and other regulated parties that they must ignore biological sex or face enforcement actions and the loss of federal education funding,” the lawsuit noted.

Together, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho have also sued the Department of Education. It’s a scathing indictment of federal coercion. “[The rule] is a naked attempt to strongarm our schools into molding our children … in the government’s preferred image of how a child should think, act, and speak,” the lawsuit added. “The final rule is an affront to the dignity of families and school administrators everywhere, and it is nowhere near legal.”

Surely the administration knew such regulations would trigger a bevy of lawsuits, and they have. Even in light of the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County decision, which Biden used to support his changes, it’s hard to see how he will even benefit politically, as he surely won’t legally. 

“The timing and the sheer number of courts that have been invoked here sort of stack the odds against the Biden administration because there are just so many hoops to jump through,” Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, told the Hill. “You have to basically beat every single one of them to win. And if any one of them vacates the rule, under the general understanding today, that vacates it nationwide.” 

Title IX and equality for women

Passed in 1972, Title IX transformed athletic and educational opportunities for women and girls, finally offering them the boost necessary to begin education or athletics at the same starting place as males. It reads: “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.” 

Biden’s new rule adds almost 1,600 words to that basic premise, flipping the biological definitions of gender and sex on its head, changing them to include gender identity, a concept that has only recently taken hold in American culture. 

Intended to protect transgender people, Biden’s gambit may instead upend the natural, equal rights of females to have privacy, safety, and single-sex spaces in schools, college campuses, and locker rooms across the country. There are now few, if any, legal safeguards females have should they find themselves on the other side of this policy, whether it is privacy while using the bathroom or swimming at a meet against females.

“Bloated educational bureaucracies will waste no time in investigating and disciplining students and faculty for politically incorrect speech that now runs afoul of expansive, nebulous, and shape-shifting definitions of sex-based discrimination,” Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, wrote at City Journal.

For an administration that has repeatedly pandered to progressive ideas that emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusivity, it’s ironic, even awful, that it embraced regulations that could set women back decades. 

Biden refuels debate

Although the administration’s rules didn’t mention transgender athletes, Biden originally planned to include a provision that kept schools from enacting bans on students playing outside their biological sex. Explicit language to that effect has been put on hold, but some opponents think the revisions imply it already. At least 23 states bar transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams inconsistent with their biological sex. 

Athletic associations nationwide had already been struggling to reconcile women’s sports with progressives’ emphasis on the inclusion of transgender athletes. In March, 16 female athletes filed suit against the NCAA arguing its rules violate Title IX’s ban on sex-based discrimination. The NCAA sets the rules for over 1,000 colleges and universities. While the female athletes stand a fighting chance, Biden’s revisions don’t help.

On May 3, a couple of weeks after the rules were unveiled, Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE) announced his state simply won’t comply with the new rules in light of what he believes his constituents want in women’s sports. “The Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX is an affront to the commonsense idea that men do not belong in women’s-only spaces,” Pillen said in a press release. “Protecting our kids’ and women’s athletics is my duty. … The president’s new rules threaten the safety of women and their right to participate in women’s sports. Nebraska will not comply. We must fight against radical gender ideology and vigorously protect the rights of Nebraska women and girls.” 

Alliance Defending Freedom, of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission renown, has sued the Biden administration twice regarding the Title IX changes already, too. While it has long defended the right of females to compete in female-only spaces in the lower courts, Biden’s Title IX revisions add fuel to a flame it’s been fanning for years. On May 6, ADF asked to join an existing lawsuit on behalf of A.C., a high school athlete from West Virginia. 

“The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex won’t just rewire our educational system. It means young girls will be forced to undress in front of boys in gym class, girls will share bedrooms with boys on overnight school trips, teachers and students will have to refrain from speaking truthfully about gender identity, and girls will lose their right to fair competition in sports,” ADF legal counsel Rachel Rouleau said in a statement. “Our client A.C. has already suffered the humiliation and indignity of being harassed by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. No one else should have to go through that. But the administration continues to ignore biological reality, science, and common sense. This court deserves to hear from those most severely impacted by the administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX.”

It’s hard to see how the Biden administration squares its new reading with the original Title IX or how decimating the future of sports for females helps them or him politically.

Due process effects

During the Trump administration, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued policies that revamped the way universities handled sex-crime allegations, doing away with “kangaroo courts,” bolstering the rights of the accused, and emphasizing a need for due process. 

“We released a final rule that recognizes we can continue to combat sexual misconduct without abandoning our core values of fairness, presumption of innocence, and due process,” DeVos said at the time in a call with reporters. 

False claims of sexual crimes are rare but not nonexistent, and they can destroy a young person’s life and reputation. One could almost hear a collective sigh of relief among men and women on college campuses nationwide.

Biden’s new rules toss this out with reckless abandon, removing the right to a live hearing, the right to cross-examine the accuser, and the right to representation. Now, one person in the school’s administration can serve as the arbiter of justice, hardly an environment for due process to thrive.

“As bad as the redefinition of ‘sex’ is, what’s arguably even worse is the new rule’s subversion of due process and free speech. The Kafkaesque inquisitions that were the hallmark of Obama-era governance will now return with a vengeance,” Shapiro remarked.

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“If, when Joe Biden was accused of sexual assault by Tara Reade, he’d been afforded the same due process procedures he just approved for men accused on college campuses, he’d be in prison,” commentator Megyn Kelly posted on X. 

Title IX lifted women and girls to a place of equal footing in terms of education and athletics — and to a place where even their differences are celebrated. Biden would destroy any recognition of these differences. Right now, the only tool conservatives have to combat these executive branch decisions is to challenge them in court. 

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist for USA Today. She lives in Texas with her four children.

The Chargers video used footage from The Sims video game, and featured various football players from opposing teams doing different tasks, with the video also showing when the Chargers would be facing off with each team. Among the athletes featured was Butker working in the kitchen and garden, likely a reference to his recent commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic school, when he encouraged the women graduating to embrace their role as a “homemaker.”

Many users on X were amused at the slight at Butker.

KANSAS CITY X ACCOUNT APOLOGIZES AFTER ‘DOXXING’ CHIEFS KICKER FOR SHARING CATHOLIC BELIEFS

The NFL has distanced itself from Butker’s comments, arguing that he made his speech “in his personal capacity” and that his views “are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

In the wake of his speech, a petition online has been launched to demand the Kansas City Chiefs dismiss Butker for his “discriminatory remarks,” with the petition at over 100,000 signatures as of Thursday morning. Butker had criticized gender ideology as well as President Joe Biden for supporting the “murder of innocent babies” during his speech.

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Butker, a devout Catholic, has protested Biden in the past. He wore a tie with an anti-abortion message during a visit to the White House last year to “represent the unborn.” In an interview earlier this year, the Chiefs player described the unborn as “the greatest victims in our society” because they are unable to defend or speak out for themselves, and he felt that his White House visit was the best place to voice his support for them.

“So to have a tie that in Latin I thought brought attention to the unborn, because I am trying to learn more Latin, with going to the Latin Mass, I picked ‘Vulnerari Praesidio’ which is to protect the most vulnerable,” Butker said.

The account for the Missouri city “doxxed” the three-time Super Bowl-winning kicker on X on Wednesday, offering followers a “reminder” of where he lives. After receiving pushback online, the account apologized and removed the post, claiming it was published “in error.”

“We apologies for our previous tweet,” the account posted. “It was shared in error.”

LA CHARGERS POKE FUN AT HARRISON BUTKER AS NFL DISTANCES ITSELF FROM CHIEFS PLAYER

The apology was met with more backlash as more than 2,000 replied or retweeted the post, with one popular Chiefs fan account responding, “I hate when I accidentally type out a tweet and post it in error. Happens all the time.”

There is also a Change.org petition circulating with more than 90,000 signatures for the Chiefs to release Butker from the team over what some perceive as “derogatory” remarks made at the commencement ceremony. Butker is widely regarded as one of the best kickers in the league.

Many online were quick to point out that in the NFL, a league that features prominent figures accused of domestic violence, sexual misconduct, or, in the case of Butker’s Chiefs teammate Rashee Rice, endangering lives by recklessly driving at 119 miles per hour, resulting in a crash, there is not the same level of outrage as there is over Butker sharing his opinions.

One popular NFL account posted, “Yet no petition demanding Chiefs to release Rashee Rice.”

Kansas City radio host Pete Mundo pointed out that people are “more offended by Harrison Butker saying we should put God and family as priorities before career than they are Rashee Rice driving 120 mph on a freeway and putting dozens of people in immediate physical danger.”

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he is “demanding accountability” for the Kansas City X account doxxing Butker. “I will enforce the Missouri Human Rights Act to ensure Missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion,” he said.

The controversy began when Butker gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic college, last week. He shared his opinions, as a Catholic, on abortion, gender ideology, masculinity, and the “deadly sin” of pride, which he says is propagated during Pride Month.

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He has been slammed as sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic for his views by many prominent figures on the political Left, including the wife of his former teammate Mitchell Schwartz.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Butker and the Kansas City X account for comment.

As the No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA last month and the all-time leading scorer in college basketball, Clark’s performance was closely watched. She struggled to score in the first half but rallied in the second, finishing with a team-high 20 points and three assists. However, she also had a game-high 10 turnovers.

Clark had a rough night shooting, connecting on only five of 15 shots, including hitting only four of 11 three-point shots.

Despite her struggles, while disappointed, Clark remained optimistic about the future. She categorized her first game as a learning experience. 

“I’m disappointed, and nobody likes to lose, but I don’t think you can beat yourself up too much about one game,” Clark said. “I don’t think that’s going to help this team. Just learn from it and move on.”

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides was encouraged by what she saw from Clark on Tuesday. She also said her team had a lot of work to do to improve. 

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“Caitlin was able to get her some looks, able to knock them down. Our spacing was not great,” Sides said. “Connecticut came in and punched us in the mouth tonight. We’ll be in the gym tomorrow watching a lot of video trying to figure out how not to turn the ball over 25 times.”

Clark is widely viewed as the main reason for the recent renaissance in women’s basketball. While at the University of Iowa, Clark’s games drew record attendance and ratings. Her popularity seemed to follow her to the WNBA. Tuesday’s game in Connecticut was an away game for Clark’s Indiana Fever. However, ESPN reported that Tuesday’s Connecticut Sun home opening game was a sellout for the first time since 2003. 

Davidson, who won the NXXT Women’s Classic tournament in Florida earlier this year, appears to be on a pursuit to qualify for a women’s major golf tournament as a transgender athlete, and that has not sat well with many on social media.

“@USGA I’m not sure what the The U.S. WOMENS Open is anymore because I don’t understand what a women is anymore,” LPGA pro Dana Fall responded to Davidson’s play in post targeted at the United States Golf Association.

USA Track and Field veteran Carilyn Johnson also criticized the actions of the USGA.

“@USGA saying ‘If men can’t win in the male category, we support them playing in the women’s category where they have a better shot, because men should never have to accept defeat. Ever,'” she posted on X.

In the past, Davidson has not shied away from critics alleging men hold an unfair advantage in athletics over women.

“Honestly, I 100% agree,” Davidson said. “The men do have advantages. Say you get a trans person on hormones for a year, no surgery, nothing … of course, for the most part, they’re gonna have an advantage.”

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“I don’t believe trans people should be banned from sports, but I do believe there need to be guidelines in effect.”

Davidson is at least three years removed from gender reassignment surgery.

Last year, Nevada lawmakers approved funding for the ballpark. The ruling from the state’s high court was a blow to detractors of the funding, who saw this as the last attempt to halt the Oakland Athletics’s decision to move to Las Vegas. MLB owners have unanimously approved the team’s move to Las Vegas. 

The state’s Supreme Court ruled that the filing for the ballot measure was “misleading” and “explains the general effect of a referendum, but it does not describe the practical effects of this specific referendum.”

The ballot measure, organized by the Schools over Stadiums political action committee, would have allowed voters to overturn a $380 million public financing deal that is set to fund a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium. 

The court said that the entire 66-page bill that funded the stadium must be included in the ballot question to provide full context to voters. Schools over Stadiums argued that because ballot measures can be no longer than 200 words, it made it difficult to provide its full context. 

The court called the referendum “legally deficient” and, at points, “confusing.” 

Justices were split on the measure, with five voting in favor of striking it down, one dissenting, and one dissenting in part. In her dissent, Justice Kristina Pickering disagreed with the idea that all 66 pages of the bill would be needed in the referendum.

“The Stadium Referendum would withdraw state credit and financial support for the stadium project, which in turn could prevent the stadium from being built,” Pickering wrote. 

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The ruling comes just 44 days from the petition signature deadline to get a referendum on the November ballot. Schools over Stadiums said it is committed to stopping the public funding of the stadium and will attempt to refile the petition next year.

“While we are organizing toward 2026, Schools Over Stadiums will continue to fund the constitutional challenge to Senate Bill 1,” Schools Over Stadiums said in a statement to the Nevada Independent.

Todd Messick, the founder of the ALA, reversed course on a decision not to allow transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson to compete against women in the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro competition. The California Coastal Commission had told the association that surfing competitions cannot “discriminate based on gender.”

“California state law allows for males in female surfing events,” Hamilton wrote on X. “This is not fair game. I do not support this.”

Hamilton, who lost one of her arms in a 2003 shark attack and later returned to surfing, has spoken out against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports in the past, writing in January that “male-bodied athletes” do not belong in women’s sports. Riley Gaines, a women’s sports activist and OutKick host, reposted Hamilton’s most recent post on X.

Kelly, meanwhile, joked that women athletes should give their trophies to transgender athletes, sarcastically stating that it would be “kinder and more inclusive for us to let them have them.”

“Why won’t the bigots just stop complaining?” Kelly wrote. “Trans rights trump women’s rights and that’s just a fact of the woke hierarchy. Welcome to ladies’ longboarding fellas!”

Kelly has spoken out against transgender topics in the past, greatly criticizing former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley for claiming that those who are 18 and older should “live any way they want to live” when asked if men could transition into women. Kelly described Haley’s answer as “utter bulls***” and “the WRONG ANSWER.”

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The ALA allowing Lowerson to compete in the women’s surfing competition comes after the Biden administration finalized its Title IX rules last month, which expanded the definition of sex to include transgender identities. While the new rules only pertain to the sexual harassment and discrimination portions of Title IX, an open rulemaking process is set to address matters of transgender participation in sports.

Since Title IX’s overhaul, Louisiana, Mississippi, Idaho, and Montana have banded together in a lawsuit, with the education advocacy group Defense of Freedom Institute opposing the new version of Title IX. Texas, meanwhile, has partnered with conservative law firm America First Legal for its own lawsuit. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has directed Texas public university systems and community colleges not to comply with this rule change.

The quick turnaround between races has discouraged two of the last four Kentucky Derby Winners. Mystik Dan will be joined by the 17th-place finisher Just Steel at the Preakness, but no other Derby competitors plan to join. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who rode the second-place finisher Sierra Leone, will jockey for Tuscan Gold during this next race.

“All systems go,” trainer Kenny McPeek said on Saturday. “The horse is doing fantastic.”

McPeek last won the Preakness in 2020 with Swiss Skydiver, who beat the then-Derby champion Authentic. Swiss Skydiver, now a seven-year-old retiree, went on to win four more races that year.

This time around Mystik Dan has a 3-1 odds of winning, while Just Steel has a 10-1 odds. The favorite will be Mutago, with odds of 33-1.

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Last Saturday’s race was the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. The event has gone on since 1875.

The Kentucky Derby also marked the first event of the illustrious Triple Crown, which will also include the Preakness Stakes on May 18 and the Belmont Stakes on June 8. The last Triple Crown winner was Justify in 2018.

“These women should not have to be working 2-3 side jobs to be able to compete,” Flavor Flav, whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., wrote on X.

This sponsorship came after captain Maggie Steffens took to Instagram to ask for more support. According to Steffens, teammates take up jobs as teachers, business owners, coaches, physician assistants, and more, all while training for the Olympics. The team is already partially sponsored by donations from USA Water Polo and the U.S. Olympic Committee, along with other companies that supply their balls, suits, and the like.

Athletes are currently in Paris for test games ahead of the Olympics. The women’s water polo team has already beaten France in one test game, 12-6.

Flav claimed he attempted to buy the team tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour as the popstar made a recent stop in Paris, where she will remain through Sunday. Swift provided the players with tickets for free, allowing the team to attend together.

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The U.S. team is the only non-European team to medal in the sport of water polo. On top of that, the team set its own record with its winning streak — the team has won three gold medals since 2012.

As far as the U.S. men’s team goes, they haven’t medaled in water polo since 2008. Currently, Hungary’s men’s team has a four-game streak in gold medals.

Phelps, 38, revealed he had been dealing with mental health problems in 2018 and has since been working as an advocate. Ahead of the Summer Olympics in Paris, he sat down for an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press.

“I think, at that point, I’ll say as a male athlete, I could tell something was off,” Phelps said. “But I think I saw it as a sign of weakness and if I shared anything about it, then it would give my competitors an edge. And I’m not trying to do that, right? I don’t want to give my competitors an edge.”

“I’m trying to be better than anybody, period, has ever been,” Phelps said. “So, for me, I looked at it as weakness. So, for me, I had to learn that vulnerability is a good thing. And it was scary at first, but I learned that vulnerability just means change, and for me, it was a great change.”

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Phelps was a trailblazer for his fellow Olympians to discuss mental health, as tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles have since publicized their own struggles. However, at his age and with four children at home, Phelps retired from swimming in 2016.

The swimmer holds the record for most decorated Olympian, with 23 gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.