Rep. Laurel Libby Condemns Maine High Schools For Allowing Males In Girls' Sports | The Ricky Cobb Show

Rep. Laurel Libby is pushing back against the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) after the high school sports organization chose to defy an executive order banning males from participating in girls' and women's sports. 

Last week, a trans-identifying male named Soren Stark-Chessa took a podium spot in the girls' division at the High School State Nordic Skiing Championships in Maine. A multi-sport athlete, Stark-Chessa also won a state championship in the 800-meter at the girls' Outdoor Track and Field State Championship in June. 

Also last week, another male high school athlete, Katie Spencer (formerly John Rydzewski), won a Maine state title in girls' pole-vaulting, defeating the closest competitor by more than 6 inches. 

During an appearance on OutKick's The Ricky Cobb Show on Monday, Libby explained how the MPA's "incredibly broad" policy is harmful to female student-athletes who are losing trophies and opportunities to biological males.

"The Maine Principals' Association put out a policy last year, and, in a nutshell, it says… 'If an athlete declares that they are a gender other than their biological gender, then that's that.' No questioning, no testing, no nothing. They declare it. It is so. 

"So in this case, John participated in the pole vault as a boy right through June of last year and took fifth place in a regional event last February, and then 10th in State. And now, is participating eight months later as a girl, and just won the State Championship, displacing the actual females who had worked so hard and were deserving of that championship."
 

Rep. Laurel Libby: Maine Will Lose Out On $250 Million In Funding

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports — promising to remove federal funding from schools and programs that don't comply.

The MPA later came forward to say it would allow male athletes to continue competing in girls' and women’s sports, in direct defiance of the President's order.

Now, Trump is prepared to make good on his promise in Maine.

"We’re not going to give them any federal funding," Trump said during a news conference Thursday. "None whatsoever, until they clean that up."

Maine Governor Janet Mills backed the MPA's decision, telling Trump, "We'll see you in court."

Libby explained that Mills' clash with Trump could be disastrous for Maine schools, as they stand to lose $250 million in federal funding — all because they insist on letting boys compete in girls' sports.

"That is the policy that Governor Mills is defending against President Trump. It is so extreme, it's an outlier even among other states that have similar policies, and it's an extreme position that Mainers don't support," Libby told Ricky Cobb. 

"Not only is she supporting this extreme policy, her stance could cost our state $250 million for Maine schools. And that is money that we need to provide education for Maine kids. So, you know, it's a twofer as far as how this hits our state, and it seems that she's pretty dug in, and that President Trump is going to have to take this all the way through the courts."

The "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order empowers federal agencies to make sure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which prioritizes biological sex over gender identity.