‘Madness’: Maine dads speak out against males in women’s sports

A group of Maine dads took to the polls Tuesday to garner support for their push to ban biological males from women’s spaces and sports.

Maine Girl Dads, a coalition of 8,000+ Maine-based dads, placed representatives outside state polling places seeking signatures for its referendum, “Protect Girls’ Sports in Maine.”

Officially filed in September, the proposal needs 70,000 signatures to make it onto the 2026 ballot. If enacted, it would obligate schools throughout the state to require students to use bathrooms and participate in sports that align with their biological sex rather than their “gender identity.”

Currently, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), which manages the state’s high school sports, allows students to participate in sports according to their self-determined gender rather than their biological sex. That policy is meant to align with a state human rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. 

The association reaffirmed its stance in February despite an executive order from President Donald Trump that banned federal funding for schools that allow “transgender” athletes to compete in women’s sports.  

MPA’s policy is supported by prominent state officials, including Gov. Janet Mills, who responded to Trump’s threat to cut funding with the words, “See you in court.” 

While state legislators proposed several bills that would prevent biological males from entering women’s spaces or sports, all but one of those bills was rejected in the state’s House of Representatives. The singular bill that passed was struck several days later by the state’s Senate, which voted 21-13 against. 

Now, Maine Girl Dads is reviving the effort to stop what it calls the “madness of males in female sports and spaces.” 

“Sex matters and our daughters matter,” says the organization, which describes itself as “purely paternal, not remotely political, and based in common sense.” 

“Through our voices and our actions, we can officially dismantle this insanity across our state.” 

Maine Girl Dads’ website calls on dads across the state to help collect signatures for the referendum and to influence their school boards to institute sex-based policies.