Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday to bar transgender athletes who are biologically male from competing on girls sports teams.
“It sends a clear message to my daughters and all of Mississippi’s daughters that their rights are worth fighting for,” added Reeves.
Transgender rights activists criticized the bill Thursday, claiming it “isn’t about protecting fairness in women’s sports.”
“Whatever your politics, we should all agree that ostracizing middle and high school kids is not something to celebrate,” the statement continued.
The Mississippi law will require any public school and university that is a member of the Mississippi High School Activities Association and NCAA, among other interscholastic sports conferences, to designate their athletic teams as male, female, or co-ed on the basis of biological sex, restricting athletes who are born male from joining female teams.
In addition, student-athletes who are deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffer any direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of the legislation are entitled to a “private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under the law” against their school.
Acknowledging the “inherent differences between men and women,” the legislation explains that male-born transgender athletes have physical advantages over their biological female competitors despite any attempt to suppress male hormones.