Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Michigan Republican lawmakers are calling on the state's high school athletic association to protect girls’ sports by complying with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning biological males, or face federal funding cuts.

"We're here today because both Sen. (Joseph) Bellino and I have issued letters to the MHSAA, and they seem to be disinterested in school districts being at risk of losing their federal funding, and most importantly, denying the overwhelming majority of Michiganders and president of the United States," Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell, told reporters Thursday.

Woolford recently introduced HB 4066, a state-level companion bill piggybacking on the president's executive order. On Thursday, Woolford referenced the president's guest at this week's address to a joint session of Congress, a 15-year-old North Carolina girl who suffered a brain injury while playing volleyball against a biological male.

"While a very small number of our critics often point out this is just a very small amount of participants in Michigan's female athletic divisions, I want to point out what's more important to all of us, and that's the 112,000 high school female athletes in Michigan, whose parents no longer have the certainty their children will not suffer the same fate as Ms. Payton McNabb," he said.

Fellow Livingston County lawmaker, Sen. Lana Theis, (R-Brighton), focused on the Title IX aspect of allowing biological males in girls' sports. She pointed out its purpose was to "level the playing field," which she says created scores of scholarship and employment opportunities for women over the past five decades.

"I am calling on all of the parents, every last one of you. I am calling on all of the coaches, every last one of you. All of the school superintendents and MHSAA to protect our girls," she said.

"MHSAA was sued and found to be discriminatory by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2006. They were subject to Title IX at that point in time, and they still are. Do not discriminate against our girls any longer. Protect them. It's your job."

According to previous reports, MHSAA has not reversed its policy on transgender athlete participation, citing potential legal conflicts between Trump’s executive order and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which protects against discrimination based on gender identity and other protected categories.

MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly told MLive on February 18, the organization was "still waiting on clarification" about this potential legal discrepancy and had no further comment.

Woolford's HB 4066 is linked below.