Biden admin withdraws proposed Title IX sports rule change
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Strategy Jonathan Scruggs regarding a proposed rule the U.S. Department of Education withdrew Friday that would have forced school districts to allow males to compete in girls’ sports or risk losing federal funding:
“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, and the U.S. Department of Education has taken a step in the right direction by withdrawing this proposed change. As the withdrawal admitted, many Americans voiced their opposition to the rule change and there are many pending lawsuits related to protecting women’s sports—including a comment submitted by Alliance Defending Freedom and multiple lawsuits brought by ADF to protect women’s sports. The decision to withdraw the proposed sports rule merely reflects the views of the vast majority of Americans who believe that women’s sports should remain reserved for female athletes.
Unfortunately, the fight to protect women’s sports from gender ideology is far from over. The Biden administration has attempted to insert gender ideology into Title IX by its general Title IX rule adopted earlier this year, the Biden administration has repeatedly told courts that Title IX alone requires schools to admit men into women’s sports, and activist groups across the country have filed numerous lawsuits to force females to compete against males. That is why Alliance Defending Freedom will continue to fight to preserve women’s sports for women and why the U.S. Supreme Court should grant review in two pending cases, B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education and Hecox v. Little, where lower courts required women to compete against males. So, while today represents a victory, there is still much work left to do to ensure women have fair play and equal opportunity in athletics.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #
RELATED LEGAL MATTER(S)
Related Resources
ABOUT Jonathan Scruggs
Jonathan Scruggs serves as senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy and the Center for Conscience Initiatives with Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, he identifies new litigation opportunities and develops new strategies for protecting free speech and religious liberty in collaboration with the chief legal counsel and litigation team directors. As the leader for the Center for Conscience Initiatives, Scruggs oversees the litigation team defending the rights of professionals and business owners to live out their faith as well as the litigation efforts to protect equal opportunities for women in athletics. Since joining ADF in 2006, Scruggs has worked on and prevailed in a variety of cases that protect the right of people to freely express their faith in their business, at school, and in the public square. He earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and is admitted to practice in the states of Arizona and Tennessee. Scruggs is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal district and appellate courts.