Another day, another state defying President Donald Trump’s executive order barring men from women’s sports.

When Trump signed the EO, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” early February, he warned that any school that didn’t fall in line risked losing federal funding. It turns out some states, such as Maine, and some schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania, wanted to test their luck. Now, their federal money supply is dwindling as a result.

Now, both New York and Illinois also appear to be refusing to heed the president’s orders to safeguard female athletics.

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recently announced that it will not comply with Trump’s order and the law it was meant to reinforce, Title IX. IHSA President Dan Tully sent a letter to Republican lawmakers in the state, which reads, “The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender they identify.” According to Tully, IHSA “simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law.” As such, he wants to keep his trans policy and asked “state lawmakers to work with the Trump administration on an agreement that avoids conflicting policies.”

State Representative Blaine Wilhour (R) said “the whole policy is sick.” He told Fox News, “Either you believe in fair competition or you don’t. The Democrat[ic] Party today... does not believe in fair competition. They put their woke ideology over protecting girls in sports.” Wilhour then argued that IHSA’s decision warrants cutting federal funds. As he put it, “[The Trump administration is] going to have to engage here, and the leverage that they’ve got is federal funding. We take millions in federal funding from the government every year. And we don’t really savor the situation where that would be withheld. But I’ll take my chances with doing the right thing.”

IHSA caught wind of what they called a “growing narrative seeking to politicize” their response, and in a statement, claimed they are “seeking clarity on conflicting state and federal law so that we can remain in compliance.” But as Wilhour emphasized, “I think every school district needs to make it clear that we are protecting the sanctity of girls’ sports, and we believe in local control of those decisions.”

In New York, similar resistance is brewing. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) called for a federal probe into Saratoga Springs City School District in upstate New York for their defiance of Title IX. The school board adopted a resolution in late March entitled, “Affirming Our Support for Every Student.” At odds with the EO keeping men out of women’s sports, the policy suggests that students have the “right to use facilities and participate in activities and sports consistent with their gender identity.”

In a letter sent to the Saratoga Springs Board of Education, Stefanik wrote, “Allowing biological males into girls’ sports and locker rooms is in direct violation of President Trump’s executive order. Our daughters should not be forced to compete against biological men in competitive sports or share a locker room with biological men.” She added, “I join President Trump in his commitment to protect our nation’s girls and daughters. This far-left woke ideology has no place in our communities.”

In addition to Illinois and New York, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) voted on Monday against banning trans-identifying athletes. “While achieving the majority of votes,” Breitbart noted, “the measure failed by one vote to win the 60% threshold needed to pass.” Ultimately, two amendments were on the table:. One would have kept males out of female athletics, and the other would have created a separate division uniquely designed for trans-identifying athletes. Both failed.

Even the famous Boston Marathon, which took place on Monday, included a third category for trans-identifying runners. While the Washington amendment would have ensured that at least two of the categories would have been free from trans athletes, the Boston Marathon allowed trans-identifying runners to choose any of the three categories. Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, highlighted the irony of the decision on X: “A man is eligible to win every Boston Marathon category — men’s, women’s and non-binary, too. No space is protected for women.”

This approach mirrors the resistance seen in states like Illinois, New York, and Washington, where schools and athletic associations seem to prioritize transgender inclusion over the federal mandate to remove biological males from women’s sports. In fact, Family Research Council’s Mary Szoch, a former Division I athlete, told The Washington Stand that “this is one of those instances where, as Americans, we really should question the quality of education our children have been receiving for years.”

She continued, “Some educators cannot comprehend that men cannot play women’s sports. There is no in between. If you have XY chromosomes, you can’t play women’s sports. If you have XX chromosomes, you can. It is really not that difficult.” Szoch emphasized how “biological differences [mean] men competing in women’s sports would have a distinct advantage.” And yet, sports are meant to be “a place where we can control for fairness, and doing so creates an environment where athletes can develop other virtues.”

“In the absence of fairness,” Szoch concluded, “there is no point to sports. This is common sense. Children understand this. I just wish the administrators at America’s schools and universities did.”