Spanberger Rolls Back Predecessor’s Proposed Regulations Protecting Girls’ Sports

Virginia’s Democratic governor scrapped a proposed rule shielding girls’ sports from biological males and told almost no one.

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration pulled the proposed regulation on July 30, 2026, ending a rulemaking effort started under her Republican predecessor, Glenn Youngkin, according to OutKick. The rule would have barred biological males from female athletic teams and from female-designated areas such as locker rooms and bathrooms. It had cleared the public comment stage but never became final.

No press release went out. No social media post announced it. The withdrawal instead appeared on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall site, which recorded the action as withdrawn after the comment window closed, OutKick reported. Local broadcaster WJLA confirmed the governor gave no formal notice, describing the change as buried on a government page few people visit. The public caught on roughly six weeks later.