Boys playing on girls-only sports teams? Why NY may order high schools to allow it

New York may order high schools to let boys play girls-only sports and compete against girls for spots on those teams under a proposed policy change that has alarmed school administrators.

The proposal by the state Education Department would break down gender distinctions for any sports that don't offer separate teams for both boys and girls. So it would have no impact on soccer, lacrosse, track and other two-sex sports.

But boys could now compete with girls in softball and field hockey, both in tryouts and games. They could join the girls' volleyball team if their school doesn't have a boys' team. And they could scramble beside girls in flag football, a growing sport for high school girls since it started two years ago.

The idea was floated in May to bring greater equity to high school sports. But administrators fear it could do just the opposite if boys start to replace girls on teams. They also worry that welcoming larger boy players onto the field could endanger the safety of girls, exposing them to injuries and their school districts to lawsuits if girls get hurt.

"I just don't understand it," White Plains School Superintendent Joseph Ricca told the USA Today Network in an interview. "These changes could potentially create a disincentive for female students to participate in an equitable fashion."

The Board of Regents, the 17-member body that oversees education policy in New York, introduced the regulation changes at a meeting in May and scheduled a vote for September, following a 60-day public comment period that ended around July 21. If approved, the policy would take effect on Sept. 25.

"The Department is committed to providing athletes of all genders equal opportunities to play and participate in extra class athletic activities, as athletics are a vital part of any student’s education," state officials wrote in a summary of the proposal. "This includes promoting equality between separate male and female athletic programs and encouraging mixed gender teams. The Department believes this is an important step in ensuring equality."

Education Department officials didn't respond to questions from the USA Today Network about the concerns their proposal has raised.

How did NY come up with the high school sports proposal?

The proposal has nothing to do with transgender students who play sports, a lightning-rod topic for conservatives. New York's anti-discrimination laws already enable transgender athletes to play on their chosen team, so the state had no need to address that issue through a policy change.

Instead, the idea for gender-neutral teams stemmed from a recent charge of unequal access for girls.

A student at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx complained to the Education Department in 2022 that she was forced to clear hurdles that no boys faced in order to play football, including passing a fitness test, undergoing a puberty exam and writing an essay to justify her interest. Any boy could make the squad at her private school without those steps.

Shira Mandelzis ultimately won a spot and played football for Riverdale. But she objected to what she felt were unfair and demeaning requirements.

Under current regulations, high school girls who want to play football, ice hockey or another boys sport must get a review panel's approval. After the Mandelzis complaint, the state decided to revisit those rules and held meetings with various groups on five evenings last October to discuss solutions. Some students and parents also participated.

What came next was the controversial proposal laid out in May as a set of regulation amendments.

The Education Department cast them as the product of consensus, saying the people who participated in the October meetings had agreed the state should "eliminate gender distinctions wherever possible."

"Almost unanimously, participants stated the requirement for a determination of eligibility to be made by an evaluation panel was unfair, subjective, and lacked transparency," state officials wrote. "Participants requested standardized decision-making processes across different schools and regions. Participants also raised concerns about maintaining fairness and equity, especially regarding whether male students should be allowed to participate on female teams."

What are the objections to NY's proposal?

But in reality, two statewide groups that took part in the meetings had strong concerns or were outright opposed to the resulting proposal. Both fired off letters to demand it be rescinded or modified to leave school districts greater discretion.

"The mandate is unnecessary, irresponsible, and an infringement upon girls' sports during a time when their chosen sports are being invaded by politics and a total disregard for existing regulations that protect female athletes," leaders of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association wrote on May 27.

Ricca, the White Plains superintendent, argues the proposal could undermine the very legal protections for girl students that it claims to uphold. They were set by a landmark federal law known as Title IX, which blazed a path in 1972 for girls to play sports by barring gender discrimination in federally funded school programs and activities.

Inviting boys onto girls' teams could chip away at decades of progress by discouraging girls from participating or taking away opportunities for them to do so — and to be successful, Ricca said.

He also criticized the state's "holistic" approach, arguing that school districts should continue to make decisions on gender mixing on teams on a case-by-case basis. White Plains, he noted, has weighed past requests from boys to play on girls' teams.

"I think school districts have been navigating these situations as they come up in their communities," he said.

How many girls play single-gender sports in NY?

Nearly 30,000 girls played volleyball at New York high schools in 2022-23 school year, making it one of the state's most popular sports for girls, according to data from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

But some play for schools that would be unaffected by the policy change because they also have boys' volleyball teams. Among girls-only sports, softball has the most participants by far: more than 25,000 girls at public high schools in 2022-23. Behind that came field hockey, with around 9,400 players.

Flag-football numbers are quickly growing. In just its second season, more than 3,300 girls played. By the time its third season began this spring, the number of varsity teams competing in flag football had jumped to 198 from 138.

Would boys want to participate in girls-only sports in NY?

How many boys are likely to jump at the chance to join those and other girls' teams is hard to predict.

"That's the unknown," said Jim Wright, associate executive director for the state Athletic Administrators Association. "It could be one, it could be none. Or it could be a hundred."

His group warns that the proposal could force its members to violate their legal duties to protect students' safety, properly place them on teams and avoid litigation against their districts. Wright, who retired last year as athletic director for South Huntington School District on Long Island, invoked the example of a 6-foot-3-inch boy joining a girls' field hockey team.

"What are the chances that somebody's going to be injured in that?" he asked.

Wright said he participated in two of the policy meetings in October and got no answer when he asked who would be held liable.

"There's no reason for it," Wright said of the proposal that grew from those discussions. "We're trying to create this genderless society for nothing except self-interest."

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Boys playing on girls-only sports teams? Why NY may order high schools to allow it