The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing California of engaging in illegal sex discrimination and endangering female athletes by letting biological males compete against them in girls’ scholastic sports.

The complaint alleging violations of Title IX, the federal civil rights law barring sex discrimination in education, was brought two days after state officials rejected a proposed resolution agreement that would have kept male-born athletes off girls’ athletic teams and out of their locker rooms.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pointed out that California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the transgender-athlete situation “deeply unfair” in March, yet at least five biological males were allowed to participate in girls’ high school sports during the 2024-25 academic year.

“The Governor of California has previously admitted that it is ’deeply unfair’ to force women and girls to compete with men and boys in competitive sports,” Ms. Bondi said in a statement. “But not only is it ’deeply unfair,’ it is also illegal under federal law. This Department of Justice will continue its fight to protect equal opportunities for women and girls in sports.”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.