Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is leading a petition effort to amend the Nevada Constitution in 2026 to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ and women’s sports, though the state already has bans in place at the state and national level, the Associated Press reported.
Lombardo announced Wednesday that he is leading the effort, and said it is intended to protect fairness and safety in girls’ sports. In a Wednesday press release, Lombardo said, “We are taking thoughtful steps to ensure girls’ sports are fair and athletes are safe.”
The proposal centers on the Nevada Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment, which voters passed in 2022. That amendment guarantees equal rights regardless “of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”
Supporters said the ballot initiative would change how sports are classified under publicly funded athletics. The Protect Girls’ Sports In Nevada PAC told The Nevada Independent that the proposed initiative would require entities that receive public funds—such as schools, colleges or local athletic programs, or groups that govern them—to categorize each sport or competition as male, female or coeducational/mixed sex.
It was unclear how many transgender student athletes, if any, are in Nevada. The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, which oversees athletics at more than 120 high schools in Nevada, has previously said it cannot provide that information under federal student privacy policies.
The PAC filed the initiative language Wednesday afternoon. To qualify for the Nevada ballot, petitioners need at least 148,788 valid signatures statewide, equivalent to 10% of the votes cast in the last election. Of those signatures, at least 37,197 must come from each of Nevada’s four congressional districts. Petitioners have until June 24 to submit signatures, and the measure must be approved by voters in two successive general elections before it can be added to the Nevada Constitution.
The ballot effort also drew opposition from Democrats and from the state’s attorney general. Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill, who is running as a Democratic candidate for governor, called the petition “hateful,” and said she supports transgender athletes playing for the team that best aligns with their gender identity. Hill added, “I think that this is all about politics to drive Republican turnout and it’s unacceptable and really a nonissue in Nevada.”
Attorney General Aaron Ford said he does not personally support transgender athletes playing in sports that do not match their sex assigned at birth. In a Wednesday statement, he described the initiative as a “political ploy” and said he was concerned it could increase discrimination against transgender Nevadans. Ford said, “My faith teaches me that every person is a child of God and deserves to be treated with humanity, dignity, and respect,” and added, “And as Attorney General, I will continue defending the constitutional rights of every Nevadan.”
The PAC’s leaders include Heidi Kasama, attorney Adriana Guzmán Fralick, and Erica Neely, and Lombardo will serve as its honorary chair, according to the AP report. Speaker Steve Yeager is not running for re-election.
Lombardo has been involved in past ballot and policy fights involving transgender participation. In 2023, he joined other governors in a letter to the NCAA requesting a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports. In 2024, he supported UNR women’s volleyball players boycotting a match against San Jose State University’s team over concerns about a trans player.
The governor’s record on gender-affirming care also differs from his position on sports. In 2023, he signed a bill requiring health insurers to cover gender-affirming care for transgender minors and adults, but two years later he vetoed measures that would have created a shield law for providers offering gender-affirming care and measures intended to protect transgender people incarcerated at local jails.
The AP report said Nevada is among 21 states, five territories and Washington, D.C., that do not have a state law prohibiting transgender athletes from playing on K-12 and collegiate teams aligned with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project. It said bills attempting to raise the issue have been blocked by Nevada’s Democrat-controlled Legislature.
The report also said the NIAA repealed a policy last April that had previously allowed transgender high school students to play on teams aligning with their gender identity. It said the NIAA action followed an executive order from President Donald Trump last February seeking to ban transgender athletes in women’s sports, along with threats to cut funding from programs that did not comply.
Last year, the report said the NCAA’s board voted to bar transgender athletes from women’s collegiate sports even though NCAA Executive Director Charlie Baker has said fewer than a dozen known transgender athletes are competing in college sports nationwide.