Before Maine legislators decide whether to “align” state law with President Trump’s version of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s Title IX, they should carefully consider what federal law actually says — quite different from statements by Trump, and more recently, by Sen. Susan Collins. Collins wrote to constituents, “I agree with the federal government’s position that biological males should not compete in girls’ and women’s athletics.” But the whole purpose of Title IX — along with the entire law, which forever ended legal segregation by race and gender in public places — isn’t about “competition,” but “participation.” It’s a critical distinction. When transgender girls play on high school girls’ teams — as Maine’s current interpretation of its 2021 Human Rights Act amendment requires — this does not violate Title IX. No one is denied “participation.” So all of Trump’s illegal withholdings of funding from Maine — presidents cannot “impound” already appropriated funding or discriminate against a particular state — may be in service of a false legal theory. Gov. Janet Mills’ retort to Trump, “See you in court,” was not an empty gesture. Most legal analysts don’t consider this a close call; Maine is likely to win cases brought under the Title IX provisions concerning transgender athletes. Unfortunately, that will take many months, or even years, given the glacial pace of judicial decision-making and the soon-to-be-thousands of lawsuits filed against Trump’s countless extra-legal and likely unconstitutional orders. This doesn’t mean Maine should do nothing, but it can act in terms of policy, not by changing state law, as several bills before the Legislature are attempting to do. Consider the Human Rights Act amendment, forbidding discrimination based on “gender identity.” Does this mean transgender athletes have a right to participate on either a boys’ or girls’ team? Not necessarily. Remember, we’re not talking about “participation,” which is not being denied to anyone. Instead, we’re considering competition and fair play, involving very different rules. Before the 2021 amendment, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) allowed transgender athletes a choice of team by waiver, which at the time was relatively uncontroversial. Afterward, the Attorney General’s Office instructed MPA this was automatic — no waiver required. Is that really the case? MPA sets countless rules about competition that don’t affect, without good cause, the right to participate. In recent years, several teams have been barred from competition, or required to forfeit, after credible allegations of hazing by coaches and other players. Those decisions involved whole teams, not just individuals. MPA also sets classifications for which teams compete against each other, and often changes them. Eight-person football is now a recognized interscholastic sport in Maine, along with the traditional 11-member teams. This is all done to further competition and fair play. In principle, competition for transgender athletes is no different. Maine is among several states with similar policies. It was singled out because of the governor’s retort to the president at a White House luncheon. And this leads us to a strikingly different conclusion than that reached by President Trump and Sen. Collins. Maine can change its policy. It does not need to change its law. It’s clear by now that a policy allowing an athlete to compete on a boys’ team and switch to a girls’ team the following year offends most people’s sense of competitive fair play. This is what the Maine Principals’ Association’s competition committee needs to address. It won’t be easy, given the polarized debate raining down on all sides and in all media forums. But it must be done. Perhaps then we can newly appreciate Title IX’s extraordinary gift to America, increasing and eventually making universal participation in public life and athletics. In 1964, only a tiny number of girls and women played on accredited teams. To comply with the then-new law, schools and colleges set up separate teams, recognizing physical differences in strength and endurance between male and female athletes. The rest is history still in the making. At the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, there will be 16 women’s soccer teams and 12 men’s teams, reversing the number from the 2024 Paris Olympics. In soccer and in college basketball, women have reached parity as measured by audience enthusiasm, if not yet player salaries. The recent NCAA basketball tournaments for women and men featured Final Fours with more elegant and crowd-pleasing play by the women, with that tournament being won by the University of Connecticut for the 12th time. These are achievements we should all be able to celebrate. Let’s renew our focus there, and away from the dark, dystopian visions of Donald Trump.