Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has signed a new law requiring students to play on school sports teams based on their sex, a move he says is necessary to protect women and girls and their ability to fairly compete in sports.
The law makes sure that “we simply have a fair playing ground,” said Pillen on Wednesday at a signing ceremony, where he was joined by lawmakers, advocates of women’s rights, and several female athletes from Nebraska and across the country.
Among them was Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer from Tennessee who made national headlines in 2022 when she tied with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth in the women’s 200-meter NCAA championships. She has since become a leading voice in a national movement to preserve women’s sports for women….