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Abigail Spanberger’s Virginia gubernatorial campaign came under fire from women’s sports rights activists this week. A women’s swimmer who is suing a college in her state over an incident involving a trans swimmer chimed in.
During the first debate against Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, Spanbeger was asked if she would rescind current Governor Glen Younkin’s executive order to keep biological males out of girls’ sports.
Spanberger’s answer went viral.
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“My answer is that in each local community decisions should be made between parents and educators, and teachers in each community. It shouldn’t be dictated by politicians,” Spanberger said. “I’m a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools,” Spanberger added in response to questions about her stance on transgender issues.
Former Roanoke women’s swim captain Lily Mullens, who led an athlete revolt against the program in 2023 that culminated in a press conference and lawsuit, told Fox News Digital her reaction to Spanberger’s answer.
“The cowardice and refusal to give a clear yes or no on keeping Governor Youngkin’s policy protecting Virginia’s girls destroys all trust in Spanberger’s judgment and integrity. I firmly believe that if you are unable to denounce such outward disregard for the rights of girls who live in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, then you are unworthy holding any office, let alone that of a Governor,” Mullens said.
“For someone who is to be representing all constituents of Virginia, she should be able to clearly answer questions instead of pandering to the radical gender ideology especially when asked about an issue that an overwhelming majority favors keeping men out of women’s spaces.”
Mullens went on to express support for Winsome-Sears, who is firmly in support of the mandate to keep trans athletes out of girls’ sports.
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“Winsome Sears, a true leader, has made her position clear as one that is committed to protecting women and girls with the very thing Spanberger and her party lack: common sense. I can attest, as I know what it is like to feel as though your rights as a woman are completely overlooked by those in power.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ launched an investigation into Roanoke’s 2023 handling of the situation involving Mullens, her teammate and the trans athlete. It concluded that the college denied the female swimmers accommodations, advantages, and privileges on the basis of sex, caused the women emotional, physical, and dignitary harms and violated the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA).
“I know what it is like to feel as though your rights as a woman are completely overlooked by those in power. My teammates and I called for our story to be the last, but unfortunately, due to the lack of leadership from those pushing this anti-woman agenda, we have had to watch more girls suffer,” Mullens continued. “Virginia needs people like Lt. Governor Sears and AG Miyares now more than ever. That debate made that fact quite evident.”
Miyares’s report also suggested the female swimmers who were discriminated against are eligible to seek financial damages because the school’s policy violated the VHRA, as per state code.
Documents obtained by Fox News Digital stated that six female swimmers on the Roanoke College team applied for May Term Travel Courses run by the school three days before a press conference took place in which some expressed their displeasure with having a transgender swimmer on their team.
“Two weeks after the press conference, the Roanoke professors in charge of the Japan and Greece travel terms rejected the female swimmers’ applications,” Miyares’ findings said.
The documents noted that the VHRA barred “unlawful discrimination and retaliation by educational institutions on the basis of sex” and that “No educational institution may ‘refuse, withhold from, or deny’ any accommodations, advantages, or privileges on the basis of sex.” Any implementation of a discriminatory policy would be considered discrimination under the law.
Roanoke College released a statement saying it “categorically denies the unsubstantiated allegation that its trustees, faculty, staff, coaches, or administration violated the human rights of any students or retaliated against them in any way.”
The school said it adopted a policy that was “more stringent than the NCAA position, which rendered the student ineligible to compete.”
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Former Roanoke women’s swimmer Lily Mullens (Courtesy of ICONS)
“As the report says: As a factual matter, the Office does not find sufficient evidence that the women were denied the opportunity to compete in this case or that the College itself subjected the women to a hostile environment based on sex.’ The report does allege that our faculty retaliated against members of the women’s swim team by rejecting their applications to May Term courses,” the school said. “That accusation is patently false; our faculty acted in good faith and followed our usual process regarding student selection for May Term courses.”
Elsewhere in Virginia, issues related to transgender bathrooms and sports loom large. In August, five Northern Virginia school districts were found by the Department of Education to be in violation of Title IX for failing to roll back policies allowing transgender students.
Last month, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits brought by two of the districts, seeking to challenge the Trump administration’s finding that places restrictions on the districts’ federal funding unless they make a change.
Meanwhile, a case involving two Virginia boys who were suspended and found liable by their school for sexual harassment, after being caught on camera complaining to each other about a transgender classmate using their locker room, is also currently playing out in federal court right now.
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