PIAA won’t offer opinion on transgender legislation before reading proposal

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, April 9, 2021 | 9:05 AM

Purchase Photo Options

The PIAA won’t offer an opinion on proposed legislation barring transgender athletes from girls sports before reading the bill, executive director Bob Lombardi said.

Under current PIAA bylaws, the association will accept any gender indicated by a student’s principal.

The proposed legislation, unveiled Monday by five Republican state lawmakers, was mentioned briefly when the PIAA board met Wednesday.

“We haven’t seen it yet,” Lombardi said. “The position we have taken is, we have addressed this in our bylaws. … Absent seeing the legislation that’s being proposed, it’s tough to make a comment.”

In Article 16, Section 4 of the bylaws, the PIAA says: “Where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the Principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by PIAA.”

Andy Goodman, a lobbyist for the PIAA, told the board Wednesday that if the proposed legislation were to pass, Gov. Tom Wolf likely would veto.

“We will continue to monitor that legislation process,” Goodman told the PIAA board. “At this point, we have not read the legislation but we will once it’s introduced. The governor’s office in the press has indicated that if the legislation does get passed he will likely veto the legislation.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.