VICTOR JOECKS: Nevada the newest state to protect female sports

To play on a girls’ sports team, you have to be a girl. That sensible principle is now the policy of Nevada high school sports.

On Tuesday, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association overwhelmingly approved a new “student eligibility and participation” policy. Female athletes are allowed to “participate in a NIAA sanctioned sport on teams designated for girls.” Male athletes aren’t. And there’s no loophole for a boy who claims to be a girl, like there was before.

Bravo to the board members who supported this common-sense and much-needed policy.

After puberty, it’s unfair to make girls compete against boys. Deanna Riddle, a NIAA parent board member, shared a story that illustrated this. At a recent track meet, her son competed in the 300-meter hurdles. His first 200 meters went smoothly, but then he tweaked his hamstring. He had to limp to the finish line.

“He was so fast in his race — I think he ended at a 43.24 — that walking the last 100, he still beat (the time of) the fastest varsity girl,” she said.

Examples such as this are why it’s so important to protect female sports. It’s not merely about giving girls and women a chance to win either.

Sia Liilii testified in support of the policy. You may know her as the UNR volleyball player who bravely spoke out against San Jose State having a male player on its team. UNR even forfeited its match against that team in protest. But there’s more to her story.

“I am one of 11 siblings, so I knew from a young age that I would have to work hard, earn a scholarship in order to further my education,” she told the board. “By allowing biological males who are stronger and faster in women’s sports, the opportunity for a young girl in the future could be diminished.”

President Donald Trump deserves credit here, too. The board cited his executive order protecting women’s sports as an impetus for its own actions.

This is one of the biggest policy wins for Nevada conservatives in the past decade, and it didn’t happen by accident.

Liilii and her teammates took a courageous stand, drawing attention to the injustice of allowing men in women’s sports. Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony came out in strong support of the UNR volleyball team’s decision.

Anthony and Sarah Johnson, who works in his office, kept pushing the issue. In January, he created the Lieutenant Governor’s Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports. That group is chaired by Marshi Smith, an NCAA champion swimmer and co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Her work in Nevada and nationally has been invaluable. NIAA worked with ICONS in crafting this policy.

Unlike most government committees, this group took action and kept up the public pressure. At a recent Assembly Education Committee meeting, several young athletes spoke about the need to protect girls’ sports.

“Boys and girls are built differently, and that’s why we have separate teams,” Riley Roleson, a 12-year-old who plays volleyball and basketball, said.

Democrats have no answer to this preteen schooling them in biological realities that are obviously true. They can only hope that Republicans stop talking about the issue.

That would be a mistake. For one, when you’re on the popular side of an 80-20 issue, it’s political malpractice to stop talking about it. Plus, this victory is significant, but it isn’t etched in stone. If Attorney General Aaron Ford were to defeat Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2026, I believe he would sign a bill overruling this policy. The ACLU is also likely to sue.

Even so, this vote shows something important. The fight to protect women’s sports is winnable, but it must be fought.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.