WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Independent Women commends the leadership of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration for its bold enforcement action against the state of Maine for Title IX violations, after Maine explicitly ignored President Donald Trump’s Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order and had continued to allow males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. Attorney General Bondi in her announcement today said the U.S. Department of Justice would take legal action against Maine in a move to defend women’s rights.
As Independent Women has long advocated, Title IX protections for women are not open to bureaucratic reinterpretation. When states like Maine choose to ignore it, the rights of women and girls to privacy, safety, and equal opportunity are not just trampled—they are erased. Today’s action begins to reverse that damage.
Independent Women applauds leaders who are willing to speak plainly about the truth that biological sex matters in sports and should be interpreted as such under Title IX. As U.S. Senator Susan Collins, who represents the state of Maine, rightly noted on X:
“The conflict between how the State of Maine and the Administration interpret Title IX needs to be resolved. I agree with the federal government’s position that biological males should not compete in girls’ and women’s athletics. Policies to the contrary violate the original intent behind Title IX.”
Linnea Saltz, an Independent Women ambassador and the first NCAA athlete to complain to the NCAA about racing against June Eastwood, the first trans-identifying male athlete to compete in Dl cross country, said: “The era of men in women’s sports is over. States that violate Title IX and erase decades of hard-won progress for women and girls should expect real consequences. Under President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership, the law is being enforced. It’s time for every state to comply with federal law. Fair and equal play for women is not negotiable.”
Independent Women Senior Legal Advisor Beth Parlato said: “I fully support and applaud AG Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice in standing up for the integrity of women’s sports by boldly filing a lawsuit against the state of Maine. Allowing males to compete against women not only undermines decades of progress made under Title IX, but it’s fundamentally unfair and unsafe. Girls and women deserve a level playing field — not to be sidelined by political agendas that ignore basic biology. This lawsuit is necessary to protect the rights and opportunities of females in Maine, and to hold Maine accountable for breaking federal law. States across the U.S. better take note – the Trump administration will put an end to men in women’s sports.”
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