Boys in Girls’ Sports in Idaho? It’s Complicated Under an Idaho Rule from IHSAA

Idaho recently passed HB 71, which prohibits the drugging of minors in the name of gender ideology.

Just how does this new law coincide with the Idaho High School Activities Association rule that allows boys to play in girls’ sports? And what about that former law passed in Idaho that banned boys from participating in girls’ sports?

Nationwide, boys are competing in girl’s sports at the high school, college, and professional level. Girls are losing out on medals and finishing higher in major competitions because males, who wouldn’t have qualified competing against other males, have entered female competitions where they have a much higher probability of qualifying and/or winning.

In 2020, Idaho became the first state in the country to ban boy’s from competing in girls’ sports.

Governor Brad Little signed HB 500 into law, dubbed the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” The enforcement of the law was put on hold while a pending court case is resolved. The case currently sits with the 9th Circuit Court of appeals and is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court in the future.

Despite HB 500 being passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature, the Idaho High School Activities Association rules allowed (and still do) boys to compete in girl’s sports.

Under the “Non-Discrimination Policy,” boys who feel like they are girls can compete in girl’s sports. It states, in part (Rule 11c):

(c): A male-to-female transgender student-athlete who is taking medically prescribed hormone treatment under a physician’s care for the purposes of gender transition may participate on a boys team at any time, but must complete one year of hormone treatment related to the gender transition before competing on a girl’s team.

The rules go on to state that the male student must submit a request to play with the girls and they must undergo one year of hormone treatment prior to being eligible to play on the girl’s team. A doctor must provide a plan to drug the kid for one year. The boy is then eligible to play on girl’s teams and MUST compete as a girl for their entire high school career.

Except, under a new Idaho law, HB 71, which takes effect on July 1st, minors are not allowed to be prescribed hormone treatment therapy, meaning high school boys who want to play on girl’s teams, at least at the high school level, are going to have to go out of state to get drugged, because it’s prohibited in Idaho.

One might wonder why the IHSAA has the rule in place at all? Why is conservative Idaho placating to the transgender madness in our youth sports?

The IHSAA is a member of the National Federation of High Schools. However, the NFHS does NOT require such a rule to be in place.

According to the NFHS’s website, they state,

At the national level, the NFHS does not regulate the manner by which transgender athletes participate. Instead, some state associations are bound by state statute, whereas others have a formal policy in place. Some associations entrust local leaders – such as the high school principal – to make an eligibility decision on the student-athlete while others have no formal policy or procedure.

So, the NFHS doesn’t require boys to be able to compete in girl’s sports, there is no federal law that requires it, and Idaho lawmakers have banned it. The big question is, where did it all start in Idaho, and who approved it?

It would seem that the decision to initiative this change in Idaho happened as a result of the IHSAA implementing the rule some time ago, but I haven’t been able to find out exactly who and why it was done.

Across the country and the rest of the world, we are seeing more and more boys/men compete against girls/women, with devastating consequences. You can see examples of this here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. There are many others taking place as well and the trend is increasing.

This madness has to stop. If boys feel like they are girls, they still need to compete on the boy’s teams. It’s that simple. 

More athletes need to speak out, like Riley Gaines is doing right now. The young woman is putting her life on the line by speaking out FOR women’s sports.

I know I don’t want my daughter, who is only seven right now, to have to be fighting this when she is older. I want her to have a fair chance at medals or scholarships if she chooses to go for them, and not have them stolen by a male, who had biological advantages over her.

Female athletes who are forced to be in these situations should boycott their events and refuse to participate.

Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls), the sponsor of HB 500, told me that parents and participants should start holding their own award ceremonies, rather than participating in the ones where boys are pronounced the winners.

I’m fine with either, or both, of those things happening. Girl’s and women’s sports must be saved.

For now, we anxiously await the U.S. Supreme Court opining on the issue, and hopefully doing the right thing.