Idaho Gov. Brad Little sent a message to his state’s schools Wednesday when he issued an executive order to implement the Defense of Women’s Sports Act. It was the latest move in a nationwide effort to prevent biological males from competing in women’s sports in response to attempted changes to Title IX by the Biden-Harris administration.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Friday, Little did not rule out schools administering gender eligibility tests to any student who wants to compete in girls' or boys' sports, but added that he would need more evidence to make a judgment.
“Are we going to require everyone competing in women's sports to get a blood test? I'd have to see very strong evidence that that's necessary,” Little said when asked about the tests, which often measure hormone or chromosome levels to determine gender eligibility.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Gender eligibility testing came to light this year when the International Boxing Association (IBF) issued a statement saying it had disqualified female boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting from the 2023 world championships for failing to meet gender eligibility requirements based on testing. IBF president Umar Kremlev claimed that unpublished DNA test results showed the two athletes have XY chromosomes, which is the default combination for men.
The two boxers won gold at this year's Paris Olympics, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended Khelif and Lin in an Aug. 1 statement, saying they “comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set out by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).”
Khelif filed a lawsuit in France alleging “acts of aggravated cyberbullying” over the public response to her participation.
Imane Khelif of Algeria competes against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary in the women's 66 kilogram quarter-final match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte, France, on August 3, 2024. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Little did not explicitly say that people with similar situations to Khelif and Lin would be excluded from women's sports, but said the restrictions would focus on athletes who previously competed in men's sports.
“Obviously, a person with that kind of advantage, someone who had previously competed in men's sports and then moved on to compete in women's sports, that's what I'm sure the good people of Idaho think is wrong and shouldn't happen,” Little said.
Little said there were no specific incidents in her state where biological males attempted to compete in girls' or women's sports that were considered factors in the new law. However, she says she has received phone calls from parents concerned about the possibility of their daughters having to compete against men in the future.
The only example she mentioned was the case of former college swimmer and OutKick host Riley Gaines, who will testify in Georgia about her experience competing and sharing a locker room with a biological man, Lia Thomas.
Gaines will be joined by four other NCAA All-American athletes, who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March alleging the association deliberately violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to compete. Gaines also joined Little on the steps of the Idaho Capitol earlier this week as she announced the executive order to reporters.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson counters 'huge lie' as hopes of LPGA tour card rise
Lia Thomas after finishing fifth in the 200-meter freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I women's swimming and diving championships at the McAuley Aquatics Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 18, 2022, in Atlanta. (Photos by Mike Comer/NCAA via Getty Images)
But for Little, Gaines' case represents a fear she has because of the final Title IX rule under the current administration. The final rule, which was approved this month, seeks to protect against discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”
On August 16, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor Bring down The Biden administration urgently called for those protections to be enforced. But conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the three liberal justices in dissenting, arguing that state laws and preemptive measures like Little’s were “excessive.”
“I'm a fan of Judge Gorsuch, so I'll always give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he was, in fact, too broad, then let's file a new case and get down to the specifics of 'we want to protect' Title IX and women's athletics from having to compete unfairly. It's that simple,” Little said in response to Gorsuch's affront.
The Biden administration has insisted that its changes to Title IX do not address athletic eligibility. However, several experts and witnesses presented evidence to Fox News Digital who suggested that the changes have allowed and will continue to allow biological males to compete in women's sports.
Given a potential Kamala Harris White House victory in November and ongoing Title IX reviews by the current administration, Little knows her state could have a tougher fight ahead to maintain desired protections for women's sports.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard, the first transgender Olympian, fails on her final attempt in the women's 87-kilogram weightlifting final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Little said when asked if he expects a Harris victory would result in his schools losing federal funding because of the order she just passed.
“From a national standpoint, there are small, radical groups that want to implement changes to the rules we already have. I am confident in what we have and we will act aggressively, as the state of Idaho, both legally and legislatively to protect female athletes and the great strides they have made through Title IX.”
In the event of a Trump victory in November, Little expects the current administration's changes to Title IX to be scrutinized “very closely.”
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on Xand subscribe to The Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
