Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has stated that there are “no concerns of safety” regarding the participation of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. This assertion comes as the Trump administration files a lawsuit against Maine, alleging violations of Title IX due to the state’s policies allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports categories.
In an interview with CNN, Frey defended Maine’s stance, emphasizing that the state has not identified any safety issues stemming from transgender athletes’ participation. He noted that only two transgender students are currently competing in girls’ sports within the state.
“We’ve been working through to understand what, if any problem, really exists with the participation, if some of the harms that are being alleged really are of some concern, and what we’ve identified is, there really is — there are no concerns of safety,” Frey commented.
Frey also argued that Maine’s policies align with both state and federal laws, including Title IX and the Maine Human Rights Act, which support the inclusion of transgender individuals in sports consistent with their gender identity.
The Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, contends that Maine’s policies compromise the safety and fairness of female athletes. The lawsuit seeks to enforce compliance with federal directives that define sex based on birth-assigned gender, aiming to restrict transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.
“These boys are allowed to go in women’s restrooms, they are allowed to go in the women’s dressing rooms and get fully naked and change — biological boys — and change clothes in front of these young women…Maine’s leadership has refused to comply at every turn, so now, we have no other choice: We are taking them to court,” Bondi asserted.
This legal action follows President Trump’s executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which conditions federal education funding on the exclusion of transgender girls from female sports teams. Maine Governor Janet Mills has publicly opposed the order, asserting that the state’s policies are lawful and that the federal government’s actions represent an overreach.
The conflict between Maine and the federal government underscores the broader national debate over transgender rights and the interpretation of Title IX in the context of gender identity and sports participation.
