{"id":92326,"date":"2026-04-23T10:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=92326"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:23:27","slug":"sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","title":{"rendered":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"92326\" class=\"elementor elementor-92326\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-54932734 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"54932734\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-350930f9\" data-id=\"350930f9\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-594009d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"594009d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>Sharron Davies\u2019 Women\u2019s Sports Union and ADF International formally warn 10 sports bodies they are in breach of law by failing to protect women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport from transgender ideology<\/li><li>Sports bodies warned,\u00a0in light of<em>\u00a0For Women Scotland\u00a0<\/em>Supreme Court ruling, that allowing men to compete in women\u2019s sport is unlawful\u00a0\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-54cbbe43 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"54cbbe43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE-1024x682.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-92390\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png 1537w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-188ae6c5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"188ae6c5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>LONDON (23 April 2026)<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.<\/p><p>The letters were sent by Olympic medallist and Conservative peer Baroness Davies MBE and Tracy Edwards MBE\u2014the world-renowned sailor who skippered Maiden, the first all-female crew to ever sail around the world\u2014of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/womenssportsunion.com\/\">Women\u2019s Sports Union<\/a>, and legal advocacy organisation ADF International. \u00a0<\/p><p>They warned the 10 bodies (full list at the bottom of the press release), including the Football Association of Wales, Swim England and British Gymnastics, that their policies in 11 sports which they govern are in breach of the law and requested confirmation of the immediate steps the bodies will take to remedy the situation.<\/p><p>While many governing bodies changed their policies to protect women\u2019s sport following the\u00a0landmark\u00a0<em>For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers\u00a0<\/em>Supreme Court ruling last year\u2014which unanimously held that \u201cwoman\u201d refers to biological sex in the Equality Act\u2014the sports bodies threatened with legal action today still allow males to compete in female categories.<\/p><p>The letters warned: \u201cAny governing body that continues to permit biological males to compete in the female category contravenes the Equality Act 2010 as interpreted by the Supreme Court. This exposes the organisation to immediate and substantial legal liability.\u201d<\/p><p>The letters explained that Section 195 of the Equality Act and draft guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) require sports bodies to prevent males from participating in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport, to ensure safe and fair competition.<\/p><p>While most parts of the Equality Act do not apply in Northern Ireland, the letter to the Irish Football Association (IFA) (the governing body for football in Northern Ireland) explained that the <em>For Women Scotland <\/em>ruling is still binding across the UK.<\/p><p>The judgement is at the very least \u201chighly persuasive\u201d in interpreting Northern Ireland\u2019s unique equality legislation and the IFA has a legal obligation to protect women\u2019s sport categories.<\/p><p>The letters pointed out the safeguarding risks of allowing males to use female changing rooms, highlighted the ineradicable physical advantages of biological males, and warned about the risk of discrimination claims by female athletes \u201cwhose opportunities and achievements are displaced or diminished\u201d and of \u201cincreased insurance and tort liability from elevated injury risk\u201d.<\/p><p>The letters concluded: \u201cIf active steps are not taken to ensure that the issues raised in this correspondence are satisfactorily resolved, and women and girls engaging with your organisation remain exposed to these risks even in light of the clarified legal position, we reserve the right to take further steps, including litigation, to protect their interests.<\/p><p>\u201cBiological sex is not a negotiable category; it is the essential foundation for safeguarding women and girls and preserving fair competition.\u201d<\/p><p>Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/ioc\/news\/international-olympic-committee-announces-new-policy-on-the-protection-of-the-female-women-s-category-in-olympic-sport\">new policy<\/a>\u00a0that only biological females would be eligible to compete in women\u2019s categories in IOC events. The IOC said: \u201cTo ensure fairness, and to protect safety, particularly in contact sports, eligibility should therefore be based on biological sex.\u201d<\/p><p>Earlier this month, the Darts Regulation Authority banned men from competing in women\u2019s tournaments, accepting that darts is a sex affected sport, in which the women\u2019s category must be protected to ensure fairness.\u00a0<\/p><p>Last week, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said EHRC guidance on protecting women\u2019s spaces would not be published until after Scottish and Welsh elections on May 7, despite the fact that the draft guidance was submitted for review last September.<\/p><p>The delay was criticised by Baroness Falkner, the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Reem Alsalem, the UN\u2019s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, who said the guidance should be published \u201cwithout further delay\u201d.<\/p><p><strong>Women\u2019s Sports Union CEO, Olympic medallist and Conservative peer Sharron Davies MBE said:<\/strong><\/p><p><em>\u201cIt is a true scandal that men are still allowed to compete against women in sport, a year after the\u00a0<\/em>For Women Scotland<em>\u00a0Supreme Court ruling. Failing to protect women\u2019s sport from males who claim to be female eradicates fairness in competition and presents extreme safeguarding concerns, all in the name of a false ideology.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cI have heard horror stories from parents whose girls have been exposed to extremely inappropriate and harmful situations, due to the failure to protect exclusive female sport categories and changing facilities. All sports bodies must act now to stop the risk of these terrible situations happening again in the future.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cSome organisations have merely acted to protect sport at the elite level, while allowing men to compete against women at the amateur level. This is unacceptable\u2014all women who play sport must be able to do so in a safe and fair environment. If they cannot, many women will simply opt out of sport. Women\u2019s sport must be protected at all levels and the importance of this is underlined by the fact that professional female athletes are drawn from the amateur pool.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cToday, we put 10 sports bodies that fail to recognise biological reality on notice. If they don\u2019t act to do the right thing, we will not hesitate to pursue all legal options.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p><strong>Barrister and Director of Advocacy for ADF International Robert Clarke said:<\/strong><\/p><p>\u201c<em>Today, we sent a formal warning to 10 sport bodies that their failure to protect women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport is a serious breach of their legal obligations.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cThe fight against gender ideology\u2019s harmful effect on women\u2019s sport and safety is a global one, and this case is the latest front in that battle. We are serious about this work as an organisation. In the United States, ADF is litigating two cases in the Supreme Court to protect women\u2019s sport.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cWe are just as committed to protecting fair and safe competition in the United Kingdom. We will not hesitate to pursue all legal options, should these sport bodies not act to bring their policies in line with the law and biological reality.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p><strong>Tracy Edwards MBE\u2014the world-renowned sailor who skippered Maiden, the first all-female crew to ever sail around the world\u2014of the Women\u2019s Sports Union, said:<\/strong><\/p><p><em>\u201cWhen I stood outside the Supreme Court on 16 April 2025 as For Women Scotland won their case confirming the meaning of \u2018woman\u2019 in the Equality Act 2010 is defined as \u2018biological sex\u2019, I celebrated the return of sanity. Little did I know that a year later we would still be fighting for the female category in sport, and that over 30 UK sports governing bodies would be shirking their responsibility to women and girls.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cSharron and I set up the Women\u2019s Sports Union to \u2018support, protect and grow female participation in sport\u2019 but we knew that getting males out of the female category would be job number one. I have written to the RYA on a number of occasions and the disappointment I feel in their reluctance to protect women and girls is profound. I have spent my sailing career promoting and facilitating women and girls into sailing and yet the misogyny 37 years after \u2018Maiden\u2019 hasn\u2019t gone away, it has just changed shape.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Ensuring fairness and safety in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport<\/strong><\/p><p>The letters explained: \u201cIn light of the ruling in\u00a0<em>For Women Scotland<\/em>\u00a0and the scientific and sporting consensus, it is now well-established: male puberty confers enduring, irreversible physiological advantages.<\/p><p>\u201cThese include greater skeletal size and limb length, higher bone density and structural strength, significantly increased muscle mass and upper-body strength, superior aerobic capacity and cardiovascular output, and enhanced speed and explosive power (typically producing performance gaps of 10\u201330%, and up to 50% in strength-dominant disciplines, such as boxing where male punching power is on average 162% greater than female).\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Section 195 of Equality Act 2010 and draft EHRC guidance<\/strong><\/p><p>Section 195 of the Equality Act 2010 authorises governing bodies to maintain separate categories for men and women in any sex-affected activity, namely any sport in which the average physical strength, stamina or physique of one sex places competitors of the other at a disadvantage.<\/p><p>Chapter 13 of the draft EHRC Code of Practice (2025 consultation) states that in sex-affected activities under Section 195 organisers may\u2014and where physiological differences produce competitive disadvantage or safety risks, should\u2014confine the female category to biological females.<\/p><p>The position has been applied by the courts. In\u00a0<em>Haynes v. The English Blackball Pool Federation<\/em>\u00a0[2025] EWCC 50, the Court dismissed a discrimination claim filed by a biological male after exclusion from female pool competitions.<\/p><p>Relying on\u00a0<em>For Women Scotland<\/em>, the Court ruled that exclusion on biological-sex grounds was lawful and proportionate to protect fair competition in a sex-affected activity. The judgment confirmed that pool is sex-affected due to average male advantages, citing greater male strength and reach, that the threshold does not require \u201cmajor\u201d disparities, and that the analysis applies beyond stereotypically strength-based sports.<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Full list of sport bodies to which a letter was sent:<\/strong><\/p><ol><li><strong>Football Association of Wales<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Irish Football Association (governing body for football in Northern Ireland)<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>British Powerlifting<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Swim England (which governs both diving and water polo)<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>British Gymnastics \u00a0<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Royal Yachting Association<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Parkrun<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>British Baseball Federation<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>BaseballSoftballUK<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Rounders England<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p>Read the full letter to Parkrun:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ffb631e elementor-widget elementor-widget-wpmf_pdf_embed\" data-id=\"ffb631e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"wpmf_pdf_embed.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-media-folder\/class\/templates\/pdf-embed.php?file=https%3A%2F%2Fadfinternational.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F04%2FLetter-to-Parkrun-Elizabeth-Duggan-1.pdf&#038;plugins_url=https%3A%2F%2Fadfinternational.org%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fwp-media-folder%2F\" title=\"Embedded PDF\" class=\"wpmf-pdfjs-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d5a440b elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"7d5a440b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1884f478 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1884f478\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only.<\/p><p><em>(Pictured: Tracy Edwards and Sharron Davies, Sharron Davies, Tracy Edwards, Robert Clarke)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e01a394 elementor-widget elementor-widget-gallery\" data-id=\"2e01a394\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;aspect_ratio&quot;:&quot;1:1&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;gallery_layout&quot;:&quot;grid&quot;,&quot;columns&quot;:4,&quot;columns_tablet&quot;:2,&quot;columns_mobile&quot;:1,&quot;gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;gap_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;gap_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;link_to&quot;:&quot;file&quot;,&quot;overlay_background&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;content_hover_animation&quot;:&quot;fade-in&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"gallery.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery__container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-01-13-at-20.56.16-2-1-1.jpeg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"2e01a394\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"WhatsApp Image 2026 01 13 At 20.56.16 (2) (1)\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6OTIzNTcsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcL1doYXRzQXBwLUltYWdlLTIwMjYtMDEtMTMtYXQtMjAuNTYuMTYtMi0xLTEuanBlZyIsInNsaWRlc2hvdyI6IjJlMDFhMzk0In0%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-01-13-at-20.56.16-2-1-1-1024x768.jpeg\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"768\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/68e3b56eec8294df15bc3afa_PHOTO-2025-09-12-17-31-1016-1-1.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"2e01a394\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"68e3b56eec8294df15bc3afa PHOTO 2025 09 12 17 31 1016 (1)\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6OTIzNjcsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcLzY4ZTNiNTZlZWM4Mjk0ZGYxNWJjM2FmYV9QSE9UTy0yMDI1LTA5LTEyLTE3LTMxLTEwMTYtMS0xLmpwZyIsInNsaWRlc2hvdyI6IjJlMDFhMzk0In0%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/68e3b56eec8294df15bc3afa_PHOTO-2025-09-12-17-31-1016-1-1-1024x623.jpg\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"623\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WSU-T-Shirt-1-1.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"2e01a394\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"WSU T Shirt (1)\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6OTIzNjIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcL1dTVS1ULVNoaXJ0LTEtMS5qcGciLCJzbGlkZXNob3ciOiIyZTAxYTM5NCJ9\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WSU-T-Shirt-1-1-699x1024.jpg\" data-width=\"699\" data-height=\"1024\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rob_clarke_400x400_v4.webp\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"2e01a394\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Rob Clarke 400x400 V4\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6OTIzNTIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcL3JvYl9jbGFya2VfNDAweDQwMF92NC53ZWJwIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiMmUwMWEzOTQifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rob_clarke_400x400_v4.webp\" data-width=\"400\" data-height=\"400\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sharron Davies\u2019 Women\u2019s Sports Union and ADF International formally warn 10 sports bodies they are in breach of law by failing to protect women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sport from transgender ideology Sports bodies warned,\u00a0in light of\u00a0For Women Scotland\u00a0Supreme Court ruling, that allowing men to compete in women\u2019s sport is unlawful\u00a0\u00a0 LONDON (23 April 2026) \u2013\u00a0Ten sports [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":92390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1064,1559,1560],"class_list":["post-92326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-gender-ideology","tag-transgender-ideology","tag-womens-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADF International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1537\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1023\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Sapper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Sapper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Sapper\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba89e48d7dae1101eafc4131fa60e64a\"},\"headline\":\"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\"},\"wordCount\":1623,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png\",\"keywords\":[\"gender ideology\",\"transgender ideology\",\"women's sport\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\",\"name\":\"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport - ADF International\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png\",\"width\":1537,\"height\":1023},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/news\\\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"name\":\"ADF International\",\"description\":\"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"width\":175,\"height\":106,\"caption\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/adfintl\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/adfinternational\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba89e48d7dae1101eafc4131fa60e64a\",\"name\":\"Paul Sapper\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Paul Sapper\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/author\\\/psapper\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport - ADF International","description":"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport","og_description":"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.","og_url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","og_site_name":"ADF International","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","article_published_time":"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1537,"height":1023,"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Paul Sapper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adfintl","twitter_site":"@adfintl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul Sapper","Estimated reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action"},"author":{"name":"Paul Sapper","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/ba89e48d7dae1101eafc4131fa60e64a"},"headline":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport","datePublished":"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action"},"wordCount":1623,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png","keywords":["gender ideology","transgender ideology","women's sport"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action","name":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport - ADF International","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png","datePublished":"2026-04-23T08:37:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-23T18:23:27+00:00","description":"Ten sports bodies have today been threatened with legal action if they fail to protect women\u2019s sport from transgender ideology, in formal warnings from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and legal experts.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WOMENS-SPORT-IMAGE.png","width":1537,"height":1023},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/sports-bodies-threatened-with-legal-action#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sports bodies threatened with legal action if they continue to allow men to compete in women\u2019s sport"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","name":"ADF International","description":"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization","name":"Alliance Defending Freedom International","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","width":175,"height":106,"caption":"Alliance Defending Freedom International"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","https:\/\/x.com\/adfintl","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/adfinternational","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/adfinternational\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/ba89e48d7dae1101eafc4131fa60e64a","name":"Paul Sapper","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Paul_Sapper_400x400-2-150x150.webp","caption":"Paul Sapper"},"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/author\/psapper"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}