Key Takeaways
- The Biden administration tried to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” This would have forced female athletes like Aubrey and Avalon to compete against males and share private spaces with them.
- Aubrey and Avalon Simpson are sisters and athletes from Topeka, Kansas. Both belong to Female Athletes United, one of the groups that challenged the rule in court.
- ADF joined Kansas and three other states to fight the rule. A federal court halted it in July 2024, and the case was eventually dismissed in June 2026. That same month, the U.S. Supreme Court definitively ruled that “sex” in Title IX means biological sex.
When former President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law in 1972, it was a major moment for women. While some of the specifics of Title IX have been debated, one thing about it is clear: it has helped increase educational opportunities for women and girls. For over 50 years, women have been able to enjoy those benefits.
Despite all this, the first day he stepped into office, former President Joe Biden went out of his way to try and reverse many of these protections.
The Biden administration sought to accomplish this shortsighted goal with one move: redefining the word “sex” to include “gender identity.”
This seemingly small linguistic change carried massive real-world consequences. By blurring the line between biological sex and gender identity, the administration would have effectively erased the very distinction that Title IX was designed to protect.
For Aubrey and Avalon Simpson, this wasn’t some abstract policy debate. It threatened a direct intrusion into their privacy, safety, and hard-earned opportunities. That’s why they stood up to challenge the Biden administration’s policies.
Who is Aubrey Simpson?
Aubrey Simpson is a 19-year-old from Topeka, Kansas. And like many competitive, young women, she naturally took to sports.
“I was a 12th-grade student and multi-sport athlete at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kansas, where I competed on the girls’ track and field, powerlifting, softball, volleyball, and wrestling teams,” she explains.
Aubrey comes from an athletic family. Her mom played college golf and volleyball, while her father was a semi-pro football player. Her sister is quite the athlete herself (but more on her shortly). Given that sort of lineage, it should be little surprise that Aubrey first participated in organized team sports when she was just five.
Despite being a multi-sport athlete, one sport always stuck out for Aubrey—and for very good reason.
“I started playing volleyball with my mom growing up and love that sport the most,” Aubrey said.
She added, “I learned so much from her, and it set me up for success in volleyball to this day.”
Despite everything she learned from sports, such as perseverance and hard work, nothing could’ve prepared Aubrey for what the Biden administration was trying to do.
Who is Avalon Simpson?
Avalon is the 15-year-old younger sister of Aubrey.
“I have loved sports for as long as I can remember. I grew up playing sports with my family, whether throwing around a softball or playing volleyball with my mom,” Avalon said.
Sports have always held a special place in Avalon’s heart. Her earliest sports memories were of watching her big sister play softball.
“I wanted to be just like her,” Avalon explained.
While she may have been chasing her sister, Avalon is quite the athlete in her own right. She especially enjoys pitching in softball—but it’s not her favorite part about softball.
“My favorite part about playing softball is playing with my team. We have played with the same girls for years and have become good friends,” said Avalon.
It’s not just the camaraderie. Avalon is a competitive person and has her eyes set on some lofty goals for a 15-year-old.
“My dream is to play for Oklahoma University because they are the best in college softball. And I want to become one of the best,” Avalon explained.
Little did Avalon know just how difficult the Biden administration was trying to make it for her to achieve her dreams.
On day one, former President Biden betrayed girls like Aubrey and Avalon
On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. That very same day, he signed an executive order aimed at “preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
While that seems nice and kind on the surface, it’s anything but. And the way the executive order would’ve changed Title IX did anything but promote respect and dignity.
By redefining “sex” to include “gender identity,” the Biden administration opened the door for biological men to take over women’s sports.
As Avalon attested, even when pitching against other girls, softball can be a scary, physical sport.
“Even though I love pitching, it can be scary. You are only 43 feet away from the pitcher, and all you have on is a chest protector and a face guard. The ball can come back to you very quickly,” Avalon said.
“It is also intimidating when I bat. When a taller and bigger pitcher comes to the mound, I get nervous that I may get hit by a pitch. I have been hit by pitches several times, and it always hurts.”
Avalon recounted one time she was hit while running to second base, and it was so powerful that it took her off her feet.
“I enjoy the thrill of playing softball, but I am aware there are risks in playing, even with precautions,” she said.
Those risks only get amplified when women like Aubrey and Avalon are forced to share spaces with men.
When ‘progress’ hurts: Aubrey and Avalon know what Biden’s Title IX policies would’ve done
“I have worked my entire life to be the best in volleyball. But even my best would never be good enough to beat a male competitor,” Aubrey said.
Aubrey recounted the time a 5’3” male asked to join a friendly co-ed volleyball game, despite having no experience. Aubrey’s group welcomed him.
“The first time he approached the net, both his shoulders rose above the net when he jumped, and he hit the ball at the 10-foot line—a difficult feat for many female volleyball players,” Aubrey explained. “After that first hit, I refused to play with him for fear of being physically injured in the game.”
Similarly, Avalon also experienced the futility of competing against boys.
“Boys in my grade are bigger and stronger than me,” Avalon said. “It is scary to think about a boy coming up to bat when I am standing only 43 feet from him on the pitching mound. He could hit the ball, and I would have almost no time to react and protect myself.
“Sometimes, I try to play with the boys in my grade in gym class or at recess. When the boys choose teams, they always form a group against the girls, and we are no match for them.
“We always get demolished, and there is little we can do about it.”
(That’s to say nothing about the shared fear the sisters have about a male intruding into a female locker room.)
Thankfully, for both girls, Kansas adopted its “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” in 2023, which would protect both Aubrey and Avalon from having their spaces invaded.
But the Biden administration’s redefinition of “sex” threatened to override those state-level protections.
“I fear that if this law goes away, or if Title IX is changed, I will be forced to compete against bigger, stronger, and faster males,” Aubrey lamented.
That’s why ADF decided to help intervene on behalf of Aubrey, Avalon, and female athletes across the country.
Standing for truth, standing for women like Aubrey and Avalon
Of course, all female athletes were affected by the Biden administration’s carelessness, not just Aubrey and Avalon. And while President Biden may be out of office now, his administration’s Title IX policies required an appropriate response.
In May 2024, ADF filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of female athletes, including Aubrey and Avalon, as co-plaintiffs with Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and Alaska to defend women and girls from the Biden administration’s harmful new Title IX rules.
In July 2024, a federal district court ruled to immediately halt the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX as applied to the parties. The administration swiftly appealed the decision, taking it up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. In response, in October 2024, ADF filed a brief with the 10th Circuit court, urging it to reject the Biden administration’s brazen redefinition of womanhood.
In January and February of 2025, ADF obtained two separate court orders blocking the rewrite nationwide in two other cases: State of Tennessee v. McMahon (formerly Cardona) and Carroll Independent School District v. U.S. Department of Education.
When activists tried to intervene in those lawsuits to revive the Biden-era rule, ADF attorneys defended the court orders until the groups dismissed their appeals. Eventually, this allowed the state of Kansas, ADF, and the U.S. Department of Education to finally dismiss Aubrey and Avalon’s case in June 2026.
Later that month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled definitively in two other women’s sports cases out of Idaho and West Virginia that the word “sex” in Title IX cannot be reinterpreted to mean anything other than biological sex. ADF served as co-counsel alongside Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey in those cases. The decision in those cases empowers states across the country to enact and enforce similar laws protecting female athletes.
ADF will continue to defend female athletes, women’s sports, and women’s privacy. Will you give today to help ensure girls like Aubrey and Avalon can continue to chase their dreams?
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