GLAAD AND GEORGIA EQUALITY RESPOND TO GEORGIA’S NEW LAW RESTRICTING TRANSGENDER STUDENTS FROM SPORTS, DESPITE ZERO TRANS ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN GEORGIA

GLAAD: “All students, regardless of gender identity, should have access to play school sports in a safe environment where they can learn and thrive. With the passage of this discriminatory legislation, Georgia lawmakers have unfairly and baselessly made it more difficult for transgender students to experience the same lessons sports offers all youth, and they have dangerously placed a target on cisgender girls who don’t fit neatly into societal expectations of gender. No one wins with legislation like this. All Georgia students, families, and teams deserve leaders who protect everyone’s ability to belong and be safe.”

(New York, NY – April 28, 2025) – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, along with Georgia Equality, a statewide advocacy group working to advance fairness, safety, and opportunity for LGBTQ Georgians, are responding to news that Gov. Brian Kemp has signed The Riley Gaines Act, effectively banning the participation of transgender student-athletes from participating in sports and from using the correct restroom and locker room that aligns with their gender.

The new law, which was championed by conservative state lawmakers as a top priority at the start of the legislative session and supported by Kemp, takes the unprecedented step of targeting transgender student-athletes despite there being a record of zero transgender athletes currently competing in the state.

The new law also includes vague language about “standard school medical procedures” to enforce the measure and verify a student’s sex assigned at birth.

Research from The Inclusion Project shows Georgia taxpayers would be billed for each verification, estimated at $10,000 or more per athlete, depending on the tests required and administrative costs. For cases where the outcome is disputed, which could require multiple tests, legal intervention, or genetic sequencing, costs could exceed $15,000 per athlete.

Statement from Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO:
“All students, regardless of gender identity, should have access to play school sports in a safe environment where they can learn and thrive. With the passage of this discriminatory legislation, Georgia lawmakers have unfairly and baselessly made it more difficult for transgender students to experience the same lessons sports offers all youth, and they have dangerously placed a target on cisgender girls who don’t fit neatly into societal expectations of gender. No one wins with legislation like this. All Georgia students, families, and teams deserve leaders who protect everyone’s ability to belong and be safe.”

Statement from Jeff Graham, Executive Director of Georgia Equality
“We know that SB1 will likely be weaponized against students—specifically as it relates to intersex individuals—but it could also be used against cisgender students who are accused of being transgender. Anyone who loses can throw a tantrum, bring a lawsuit, or bully the champion simply for being deemed “too good” at their sport or for not meeting the stereotypes of what a girl ‘should look like.”

Despite many Georgians’ struggle with a high cost of living, healthcare access, and many other pressing issues, it is telling that leadership in the House and Senate chose to make this their number one priority. Sports serve to teach invaluable, lifelong lessons about teamwork, discipline, and hard work. We firmly believe that every person deserves the opportunity to benefit from these invaluable life lessons.”

More background on SB1/HB267

Original language from HB 267, also known as The Riley Gaines Act, which included a radical sex redefinition and would have applied broadly across the Georgia State Code, was not included in the final language of SB1, which combined language from both bills.

Riley Gaines, whom SB1 is named after, is not from Georgia. She has parlayed her fifth place finish at an event in Georgia into a career of testifying nationwide to bar transgender youth as young as kindergarten from playing sports. Gaines has lobbied against the inclusion of trans women in the women’s division of sports, been a frequent guest on right-wing media, travels state to state and nationally for panels advocating against transgender people, and campaigned for anti-trans candidates for public office including Rand Paul, Ron DeSantis, Kim Reynolds, Daniel Cameron, and others. 

Facts on transgender participation in sports

• Transgender people make up a tiny fraction of all athletes. NCAA President Charlie Baker testified in December 2024 that he knows of fewer than ten transgender college student-athletes among 510,000 athletes total.
• All players follow protocols to participate. International Olympic Committee guidelines for transgender inclusion say there should be “no presumed advantage” based on sex assigned at birth or sex characteristics. IOC guidelines were created in consultation with experts in sports, medicine, and human rights.
• Sports bans are part of a systematic and expanding targeting of transgender people and youth that has surged to include their medically-necessary and supported health care, book bans and curriculum bans, and access to the restroom.
• Research shows states that include transgender participation have more girls participating in sports than states with bans. Claims that trans inclusion harms girls’ sports are inaccurate and baseless.
• Women and girls face significant barriers in sports that have nothing to do with transgender inclusion: inequitable facilities, pay, and marketing; abusive coaches; and racist, sexist, and homophobic harassment. Ask critics of transgender inclusion what efforts they have made to resolve real issues harming women and girls in sports.
• A 2024 NCAA study shows female players receive a barrage of social media harassment. 80% of abusive posts were directed at March Madness athletes, with female basketball players receiving about three times more abusive messages than their male counterparts.
• The 2024 NCAA women’s basketball and WNBA seasons and championships saw their highest Women’s sports are not suffering because trans people might be included.
• Sports bans endanger all female players by encouraging baseless, false allegations and discriminatory, invasive screening. A college volleyball team in California had to get security to protect teams when one player was accused of being transgender. A high school player in Utah falsely accused of being transgender had to get police protection and a Utah elected official was censured for sharing disinformation about her. Bans on trans athletes have led to invasive screening that violate the privacy and safety of all women and girls, and discourages more who might want to play. Athletes of all ages and abilities who are not trans have been bullied and harassed when accused of being trans.

About Georgia Equality:
Georgia Equality’s mission is to advance fairness, safety and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and our allies throughout the state. Georgia Equality, Inc. works year-round to pass pro-equality legislation and elect fair-minded elected officials. Through the Equality Foundation of Georgia, we conduct voter registration and educational activities, provide information to decision makers, and work to organize and mobilize LGBT residents and allies to advance equality in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the state. For more information, please visit www. georgiaequality.org or connect @GAEQUALITY on social media.