Athletics: Mississippi bans transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams

Mississippi's Republican Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday (11 March) to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women’s sports teams. Mississippi is the first state this year to enact such a ban, after a federal court blocked an Idaho law last year. Mississippi’s Senate Bill 2536 is set to become law 1 July, although a legal challenge is possible. More than 20 states are proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. Conservative lawmakers are responding to an executive order by Democratic President Joe Biden that bans discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere. Biden signed it 20 January, the day he took office.