The teen boy claimed the victory in the Maine Class B championship for the Greely High School girls’ track and field team. The boy, who now goes by a girl’s name, participated on the boys’ team just last year where he tied for 5th place, according to Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby (R), who drew attention to the incident on social media.
At the meet, the boy jumped 11 feet, “a mediocre score for boys, but within just one inch of Maine’s girls’ pole-vault champion, who set an 11-foot, one-inch record last year at the National Pole Vault Summit,” The Maine Wire reported. “He jumped a full eight inches higher than the second-place winner among the girls.”
The report notes that at the same competition, the winning athlete on the boy’s team jumped 14 feet, meaning the trans-identifying boy would have been in 10th place if he had been on the team aligning with his biological sex.
President Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from playing in women’s and girl’s sports on February 5. Consequently, federal Title IX rules were altered to that effect, and schools that refuse to obey the order risk having their federal funding withdrawn.
Last week, the Maine Principals Association (MPA) confirmed that it will not abide by Trump’s executive order protecting women’s sports.
“The executive order and our Maine state Human Rights Act are in conflict, and the Maine Principal’s Association (MPA) will continue to follow state law regarding gender identity,” MPA executive director Mike Burnham said.
Burnham added that he is “instructing all schools in Maine to follow the Maine Human Rights Act” and will not implement any policies to the contrary.
“The staff at the MPA will closely monitor any updates from federal and state authorities regarding the potential impact of the president’s executive order on high school sports participation and adjust its policy accordingly,” Burnham said.
The Maine Wire previously spoke with Scarborough High School coach Allen Cornwall, who recused himself from judging an earlier pole vault competition because he objected to the school allowing the boy to compete against girls despite Trump’s order.
“They’re going to be the conference champion, quote unquote girls Conference champion. They’ll be the quote unquote girls state champion for the class B athlete. And these girls that have been competing for years, working towards this, are just being sidelined, and it’s really disgusting,” Cornwall said.
In a statement, state Rep. Libby called the MPA’s decision allowing biological males to compete against females in school athletic competitions “outrageous.”
“Not only does their decision violate President Trump’s February 5 Executive Order but it jeopardizes the safety and privacy of female athletes, all while allowing male athletes to take medals, trophies, and podium spots away from women, effectively erasing them,” she said. “I urge the Trump Administration to move swiftly to ensure that female athletes in Maine can once again compete on a level playing field, preserving the integrity of women’s sports.”
Alleigh Marré, executive director of American Parents Coalition, also released a statement slamming the MPA’s actions.
“Parents across Maine—and the country—are fed up with being ignored while their daughters are forced to compete against biological males. The Maine Principals’ Association’s decision isn’t just unfair; it’s an affront to every parent who expects their child to have a level playing field and is at odds with President Trump’s Executive Order protecting girls’ sports,” Marré said. “Schools should be working alongside the Administration and supporting parents, not prioritizing politics. The American Parents Coalition applauds Rep. Laurel Libby for standing up for female athletes and bringing attention to this issue.”
Athletic associations in both California and Minnesota have similarly rebuffed Trump’s order protecting women and girls’ sports teams from the incursion of trans-identifying male athletes.
In response, Trump’s Department of Education sent letters to both the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) on last week notifying the organizations that they are under investigation by the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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