Week of Jan. 15, 2026

From the publisher’s desk

It’s an election year—and once again, a minority community is being scapegoated in an effort to get people to the polls.

The Nevada Independent reports:

Gov. Joe Lombardo announced (last week) he’s leading a petition to amend the Nevada Constitution to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ and women’s sports, even though there are already bans in place at the state and national level.

The state’s Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed by voters in 2022, guarantees equal rights regardless “of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”

The Protect Girls’ Sports In Nevada PAC told The Nevada Independent on Wednesday that the proposed ballot initiative would require the state and other entities that receive public funds such as schools, college or local athletic programs, or entities that govern them to categorize each sport or competition as male, female, or coeducational/mixed sex.

“We are taking thoughtful steps to ensure girls’ sports are fair and athletes are safe,” Lombardo said in a Wednesday press release.

It’s not clear how many transgender student athletes, if any, there are in Nevada. The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA), which oversees athletics at more than 120 high schools in Nevada, has previously said it can’t provide this information under federal student privacy policies.  

Make no mistake: This ballot initiative, first and foremost, is not about protecting Nevada’s female athletes; it’s about creating a wedge issue to get conservative voters to the polls (in a year when Gov. Lombardo is running for re-election). As Nevada Independent CEO Jon Ralston (the parent of a transgender son) eloquently said on X, while posting the above article: “This makes me sad. I think the issue of trans women in sports is not black and white. I don’t think gov is anti-trans. But it is not close to a big problem, and it is used to stir hate. Indeed, this is a solution in search of a problem, unless the problem is GOP turnout in Nov.”

As Ralston says, the issue of transgender women in sports is complicated. For an amazingly nuanced (and entertaining) primer, I highly recommend this segment from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. (Yes, it’s 42 minutes long—but it’s worth your time.)

But the matter of transgender women in sports, if you believe it is a problem, is NOT a problem that truly, deeply affects people’s lives, like housing, employment, health care, education or pretty much any other “issue.” The number of high school athletes in Nevada this “problem” is hurting is miniscule, if there are any at all.

This ballot initiative itself—to amend the Nevada Constitution!—would have a teeny, tiny, impact on Nevadans, even if passed. But the campaign to get it passed will have huge negative consequences for the trans community, as yet again, they’re being used as political pawns—scapegoated and demonized.

Take care,

—Jimmy Boegle, publisher/executive editor