NC Governor, a Democrat, rejects bill safeguarding women’s sports from biological males.

Roy Cooper’s veto comes after biological male seriously injured state volleyball player

North Carolina Democratic governor Roy Cooper has made a controversial decision by vetoing a bill that aimed to prevent trans-identifying biological men from participating in women’s sports. In his statement, Cooper argued that the policy makes “broad, uninformed decisions” about “vulnerable children.”

Cooper’s veto nullifies the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was passed by the state’s GOP-controlled legislature last month with support from two Democrats. Despite disagreeing with his party-mates, Cooper believes that the bill would only fuel the political “culture wars” by “making broad, uninformed decisions about an extremely small number of vulnerable children.”

If the North Carolina legislature overturns the veto, the state will join at least 22 others that have already prohibited transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Proponents of this policy argue that allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports could lead to physical harm. Unfortunately, this issue has already manifested in North Carolina, where a biological male seriously injured a female opponent during a state high school volleyball game. Payton McNabb, the injured girl, suffered a concussion and neck injury after taking a spike to the face.

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer who competed against national transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and stood alongside McNabb in April to support the North Carolina bill, strongly criticized Cooper for vetoing the measure. Gaines reminded the governor of McNabb’s devastating injury and expressed disappointment in his decision.

“Hey Gov, reminder that this happened to a girl in your state. She is partially paralyzed on her right side and her vision is still impaired,” Gaines said Wednesday of McNabb. “It’s not me who has to go to sleep tonight knowing I’m enabling this.” McNabb also criticized the veto, feeling that her injury had been “discounted.”

“Today Gov Cooper discarded the safety and opportunities of female athletes for the feelings of males,” McNabb tweeted.

In addition to his argument about “vulnerable children,” Cooper claimed that the transgender sports bill is “neither fair nor needed” and appeared to be “for campaign purposes only.” However, there is evidence that contradicts this claim. State senator Val Applewhite, who was endorsed by Cooper in 2022, supported the measure. Applewhite received “frightening” messages from supporters of transgender athletes, including one who called her a “transphobic cisgender whore.”

“I’m telling you, people are afraid to speak publicly,” Applewhite told the Carolina Journal. “Like to say, ‘Val, I agree with you,’ because you become labeled as transphobic or you’re met with backlash. Even the coaches and parents that I spoke to, they don’t want to say it publicly.”