“No person in the United States shall, on bias of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal assistance …”

Those words, written and passed into law by the United States Congress in June 1972, are the foundations of Title IX guidelines, the federal law prohibiting harassment, assault based on gender identity in academics and athletics. Progressive political guidance was needed to ensure basic rights to every American. 

For 54 years, Title IX has guaranteed equality and equity. Backward thinking, pushed by zealots, is challenging Title IX without looking at the facts. Political theater, transphobia and hysteria have replaced common sense. 

Statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations reveal how few transgender athletes are participating in girls’ sports. In Maine’s 151 schools, 26,096 girls participated in sports with two track athletes identifying as transgender in 2025. Transgender athletes accounted for .000076% of the participants. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), out of 510,000 female athletes competing in 2025, a total of 10 identified as transgender, or .0000196% of overall participants. 

What will the courts say? The Supreme Court ruled, in 2020, that discriminating against transgender people is illegal, citing Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Gender dysphoria is real. It is not something that can be cured. This is how transgender people are born. Let’s look at the facts and not the rhetoric. 

Jerry Lauzon
Winthrop