Silver State Times

A web site dedicated to advocating for boys who wish to play girls high school sports ranks Nevada as one of the "most friendly" states in the U.S. for the practice.

Transathlete.com, which tracks state policies and legislation on the topic, ranks Nevada as one of 19 states where boys are allowed to play girls' high school sports without restrictions.

"Transgender athletes will be allowed to compete in sanctioned sports 'in accordance with his or her gender identity irrespective to the gender listed on the student’s birth certificate,'" the site quotes as the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's current policy, adopted in 2016.

The other states that explicitly allow boys to play girls sports are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia.

Since 2020, some 15 states across the U.S. have passed laws barring boys from playing girls sports. 

Another eleven states allow boys to play girls sports with "restrictions" -- like requiring the athlete to have had sex change surgery, changed their sex on their birth certificate, or have started so-called "hormone therapy" Transathlete.com opposes all such requirements, arguing boys should be allowed to play girls sports without qualification.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is a leading national advocate for boys who want to play girls sports.

He has criticized governors in other states -- like Florida and Texas-- which have passed bans.

“We are leading the nation in a lot of these areas, unlike some of my governor colleagues that are going the opposite direction," he told a group of activists in early April.

In 2019, Democrat Nevada U.S. Reps. Dina Titus, Steven Horsford and Susie Lee and Nevada U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jackie Rosen sponsored a bill that would have required states to allow boys to play girls sports.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) said "passage of the bill would (have ended) gender specific sports as we know it."

Bans were signed into law in Oklahoma and Arizona on Mar. 30.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said the bill would "protect participation and fairness for female athletes."

Last month, University of Pennsylvania male swimmer Will "Lia" Thomas won the women's NCAA swimming championship in the 500 yard freestyle.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed Thomas' participation in women's events as an effort to "destroy women's athletics."

"The NCAA's actions serve to erode opportunities for women athletes and perpetuate a fraud against women athletes as well as the public at large," the proclamation read. "Florida rejects the NCAA’s efforts to destroy women’s athletics, disapproves of the NCAA elevating ideology over biology and takes offense at the NCAA trying to make others complicit in a lie."

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Nevada leads the nation in "transgender" high school sports

Are high school boys allowed to play high school girls' sports in your state?

State	Status
California	Allowed
Colorado	Allowed
Connecticut	Allowed
Maine	Allowed
Maryland	Allowed
Massachusetts	Allowed
Minnesota	Allowed
Nevada	Allowed
New Hampshire	Allowed
New Jersey	Allowed
New York	Allowed
North Carolina	Allowed
Oregon	Allowed
Rhode Island	Allowed
South Carolina	Allowed
Vermont	Allowed
Virginia	Allowed
Washington	Allowed
Washington, DC	Allowed
Wisconsin	Allowed
Alabama	Banned
Arizona	Banned
Arkansas	Banned
Florida	Banned
Idaho	Banned
Iowa	Banned
Kentucky	Banned
Mississippi	Banned
Montana	Banned
Oklahoma	Banned
South Dakota	Banned
Tennessee	Banned
Texas	Banned
Utah	Banned
West Virginia	Banned
Alaska	No Policy
Hawaii	No Policy
Kansas	No Policy
Michigan	No Policy
Pennsylvania	No Policy
Delaware	Restricted
Georgia	Restricted
Illinois	Restricted
Indiana	Restricted
Louisiana	Restricted
Missouri	Restricted
Nebraska	Restricted
New Mexico	Restricted
North Dakota	Restricted
Ohio	Restricted
Wyoming	Restricted

Source: Transathlete.com