By Molly Claire Goddard
11:12am PDT, Jul 11, 2025
_
Donald Trump is going after California over athletics. The president and his administration sued the West Coast state after a Department of Education investigation found California allegedly discriminated against women by "allowing males in girls' sports and intimate spaces."
Keep reading to learn why Trump is taking legal action over the matter…MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news
_
According to the Department of Education probe, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is claiming the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) violated Title IX by allegedly having females "displaced from podiums, denied awards and miss out on critical visibility for scholarships and recognition." According to the lawsuit, "This discrimination is not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys. It erodes the integrity of girls' sports, diminishes their competitive experience and undermines the very purpose of Title IX: to provide equal access to educational benefits, including interscholastic athletics." The legal documents from Donald Trump and his administration requested compensation for "female athletes who have been denied equal athletic opportunities including correcting past athletics records." They also demanded the state — which receives $44.3 billion in federal funding — hand over "regular compliance reports" for the next five years. "Women fought hard for these rights and it is the law and the president means business with it," Education Secretary Linda McMahon explained in an interview with Fox News.
_
The lawsuit filed by Donald Trump and his administration follows the University of Pennsylvania taking away transgender athlete Lia Thomas' swimming titles after the Republican leader pressured the school. The college also issued formal apologies to every competitor who lost to a transgender athlete. Another investigation made the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) "restore to female athletes all individual records, titles and awards misappropriated by male athletes competing in female competitions" or face "imminent enforcement action."
_
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom hasn't totally disagreed with Donald Trump on the matter, admitting he "struggled with the issue of fairness when it came to sports." The left-wing leader said during a visit to the early primary state of South Carolina, "We tried to figure that out a couple of years ago, and we were unsuccessful and we struggled with that recently. My position is that I don't think it's fair, but I also think it's demeaning to talk down to people and to belittle the trans community. And I don't like the way the right-wing talks about the trans community. These people just want to survive."
_
Attorney General Pam Bondi brought up Gavin Newsom's previous comments about "men in women's sports" — an opinion that differs from how many progressives feel on the subject. "The Governor of California has previously admitted that it is 'deeply unfair' to force women and girls to compete with men and boys in competitive sports," she said in a statement. "But not only is it 'deeply unfair,' it is also illegal under federal law. This Department of Justice will continue its fight to protect equal opportunities for women and girls in sports."
