Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports—And Women Out of Men’s

Nebraska’s Stand With Women Act protects female sports but fails to recognize the need for male-only categories.

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About the Author

James L. Nuzzo, PhD, is an exercise scientist and men’s health researcher. Dr. Nuzzo has published over 80 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He writes regularly about exercise, men’s health, and academia at The Nuzzo Letter on Substack. Dr. Nuzzo is also active on X @JamesLNuzzo.

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Before puberty, and especially after it, males have, on average, significant physical performance advantages over females. This makes the inclusion of men in women’s competitive sports inherently unfair to women and, depending on the sport, may also increase the risk of injury for female athletes.

For this reason, like many others, I support sex segregation in competitive sports: one category for individuals born male and another for individuals born female. These two sex-based categories have long served the integrity and safety of athletic competition. There is no compelling reason to change this. Trans-identified individuals can still participate in sports—in the category corresponding to their sex or, potentially, in a separate third category.¹

Despite its name, Nebraska’s Stand With Women Act, signed into law on June 4, 2025, does not actually establish sex-based categories for sports. While the Act bans males from participating in women’s school and university athletics, it does not prohibit female students from joining male teams.

For an interscholastic athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, a private school whose students or teams compete against a public school in an interscholastic sport, or a private school that is a member of an athletic association…a team or sport designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to a male student…a team or sport designated for males, men, or boys shall not be open to a female student unless there is no female team offered or available for such sport for such female student. [italics added]

My aim here is to highlight the problems with the asymmetrical structure of Nebraska’s Stand With Women Act.

Inconsistent Philosophy on Injury Risk

A commonly cited justification for excluding men from women’s sports is the increased risk of injury to female athletes. However, Nebraska’s Stand With Women Act permits girls and women to participate in boys’ and men’s sports. This creates a logical inconsistency. If the presence of a male athlete in a women’s event raises safety concerns, why wouldn’t a female athlete competing against a full team of male athletes pose an even greater risk to herself? All else equal, a woman is more likely to be injured competing against a team of males than against a team of females that includes just one male participant.

Female Performance Advantage

The most frequently cited rationale for excluding males from women’s sports is the male natural performance advantage rooted in biological sex differences in physical stature and performance. This argument is grounded in science and has been broadly accepted in sports policy. But if policymakers are going to use biological sex as the foundation for regulating eligibility, they should apply this logic consistently. That means also considering whether females might possess anatomical or physiological traits that give them advantages in certain athletic events.