Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: How Spanberger Buried a Rule to Protect Girls
22nd September 2026
Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger was finally clear about her permissive stance on boys in girls sports and bathrooms. During her campaign, though, she ran from a reporter and offered word salad answers whenever the issue came up.
On Sept. 8, from the stage at Virginia’s Pridefest in Richmond, Spanberger told the crowd she’d been moved to tears by a transgender-identifying child’s story and wanted LGBTQ+ Virginians to know they have a governor who values them.
And to that end, on July 30, six weeks before her emotional Pridefest remarks, she had quietly killed a Virginia Board of Health rulemaking process that would have barred males from competing in girls sports and using girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.