Trans Runner Wins Girls' High School Race In Pennsylvania As State Defies Trump's Order
Despite President Donald Trump signing an executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports, several states continue to flout the order. That includes Pennsylvania, where a transgender runner (biological male) took first place in the Liberty Girls' 200-meter race over the weekend at the SOL American Conference Championships in Horsham, PA.
Luce Allen, formerly Sean, captured the title after barely defeating the second-place runner, a female, by fewer than two-hundredths of a second. Video from the race shows Allen crossing the finishing line and appearing much bigger and more muscular than the girls in the race.
Allen's parents had previously said that it would be "cruel" to "force" the male athlete to compete against boys and that Allen should be allowed to race against girls because that is how the athlete "identifies."
"My child is a female in her heart and soul, and according to her medical labs. Having her play sports with males would be cruel," Allen's mother, Sarah Hansen said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Through an attorney, Allen released a statement that said, in part, "If you remove the ability of trans people to compete with a team that corresponds with their gender, then you’ll strip them of their opportunity to develop as people."
This statement was made during a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association (PIAA) board of directors meeting in March. The organization, which runs high school athletics in the state, changed its transgender participation policy to more closely align with Trump's order. However, the language maintained a loophole that allows males to continue to compete in girls' sports.
A "transgender" high school athlete (biological male) won a girls' race in Pennsylvania over the weekend as the state continues to defy President Donald Trump's executive order.
(Stock Photo - Getty Images)
Essentially, the PIAA left it up to the schools to make the decision. For example, the Philadelphia School District elected to continue to allow males to compete in girls' sports. Allen competes for Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Montgomery County. While Plymouth Whitemarsh is part of the Colonial School District, it appears they have aligned with the Philadelphia School District as the school sits fewer than 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Republicans in Pennsylvania have pushed for a complete ban on males competing in girls' and women's sports. A bill that would end it recently passed the Republican-controlled state senate, but the Democrat-controlled House is expected to reject the bill. Back in 2022, a bill to ban male athletes from girls' sports reached the desk of PA Gov. Tom Wolf, but the Democrat governor exercised his veto power.
While the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights recently ruled that the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) violated Title IX by allowing Lia – formerly William – Thomas to compete on the women's swimming team in 2022, the state itself is not currently under investigation by the federal government.
OutKick reached out to the Department of Education to ask if there was a planned investigation into Pennsylvania.
"Under the Biden administration, schools developed a habit of skirting Title IX by disregarding the rights of women and girls in sports. Schools have allowed male competitors to strip female athletes of their rightful accolades, threaten women’s safety, and subject them to the indignity of unfair competitions," Julie Hartman, a Department of Education spokesperson, told OutKick.
"Recipients of federal funding have statutory obligations under Title IX to provide equal facilities and athletic opportunities to women just as they are provided to men. Allowing males to invade female-only spaces and compete against women and girls is a dereliction of school’s responsibility to prevent sex-based discrimination. The Trump Administration’s Department of Education will no longer allow these institutions to trample upon women’s civil rights."
But with Allen taking honors and accolades away from girls in the state, and Trump's persistence in removing males from girls' and women's sports, don't be surprised if that changes soon.