State Rep. Ann Bollin recently stood up for female athletes and their right to fair competition, calling on the Michigan High School Athletic Association to keep boys out of girls’ sports.

Bollin, R-Brighton Township, said the MHSAA has a duty to promote fairness by protecting girls’ sports.

“Sports provide young women with opportunities to grow, develop skills, and learn the value of hard work and perseverance,” Bollin said. “But when boys compete in girls’ sports, they hold an unfair advantage and take away the opportunities that Title IX was meant to secure for our daughters.”

The MHSAA said last month it will continue allowing males to play in female sports, despite President Donald Trump’s executive order making it clear his administration will enforce Title IX, the provision of federal law requiring that both girls and boys at federally funded schools have fair opportunities to compete in school athletics.

On Wednesday, Bollin and her colleagues in the Michigan House of Representatives approved House Resolution 40, urging the MHSAA to change its policy and protect girls’ athletic competitions. The measure, sponsored by Bollin and the entire House Republican Women’s Caucus, passed with bipartisan support. Bollin and the women’s caucus then held a press conference Thursday to emphasize the importance of preserving fair competition for female athletes.

“Title IX was created to give young women a fair shot in athletics, free from policies that would strip them of their opportunities to compete and succeed,” Bollin said. “We must stand up for our girls and protect the future of women’s sports.”

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