To prevent Title IX modifications for transgender student-athletes, Arkansas and five other states file a lawsuit

Little Rock, Arkansas – In response to planned modifications to open protections for transgender student-athletes, Arkansas is suing the federal government.

During a Tuesday morning briefing, it was revealed that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin were organizing a lawsuit to halt the implementation of the Biden Administration’s revisions to Title IX.

In addition to supporting equality in men’s sports, Title IX was enacted into law in 1972 to prevent discrimination and promote gender equality. This includes women’s sports as well.

“Congress enacted Title IX to protect and promote opportunities for women and girls in education and sports. For the last half-century, that’s what it has done,” Griffin said in a release. “But President Biden and his Department of Education now want to radically reinterpret Title IX and recast it as a rule about gender identity.”

During the press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Bailey and student-athlete Amila Ford of Jonesboro stated that the suggested modification would be an assault on the equal rights of women.
If the modifications are approved, Ford—who is against transgender women participating in women’s sports—says that “boys will be able to access school locker rooms and sports teams.” She said, “This is not acceptable.”

The Title IX amendments, according to Governor Sanders, would aim to “erase women completely.”

“It’s a document that should scare every woman and every man in America,” Sanders said. “My message to Joe Biden and the federal government means we will not comply.”

Governor Sanders’ executive order rejecting Biden’s Title IX amendments was signed earlier this week.