‘PROUDLY’

West Virginia Governor Bans Trans Students From Women’s Sports

West Virginia’s governor said he was concerned the bill might cost the state business, but “the benefits of it way outweigh the bad part of it.”

West Virginia’s governor signed a law Wednesday that will ban all transgender athletes in middle school, high school, and college from women’s sports across the state. Republican Gov. Jim Justice said earlier this week that he would “proudly” put his signature on the bill, and he added Wednesday, “It concerns me that we may miss out on a really important sporting event or something like that that could come to West Virginia. However, I think the benefits of it way outweigh the bad part of it.” NCAA athletes have asked the association’s governing body to withdraw scheduled championships from states that target transgender athletes, as several across the country have already. The American Civil Liberties Union vowed to challenge the new law as soon as possible, writing on Twitter, “We will see West Virginia in court.”