The Women’s Sports Union and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International have warned 10 U.K. sports bodies to stop allowing men to compete in women’s sports, in light of a recent Scotland Supreme Court ruling.
The formal warnings of legal action were sent via a letter to sports bodies that continue to allow men who identify as female on female teams and in competitions.
“Any governing body that continues to permit biological males to compete in the female category contravenes the Equality Act 2010 as interpreted by the Supreme Court,” the letter states. “This exposes the organization to immediate and substantial legal liability.”
In 2025, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers that under the Equality Act, the term woman refers to biological sex.
Olympic medalist Sharron Davies, CEO of the Women’s Sports Union, sent the letter, along with Tracy Edwards, the British sailor who led the first all-female crew to sail around the world.
To ensure safe and fair competition, the sports bodies cannot continue permitting men in female sports, under Section 195 of the Equality Act and draft guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the letter says. The letter highlights the physical differences and advantages of biological males versus females, the dangers of allowing men in female changing rooms, and warns about the increased possibility of receiving discrimination claims from female athletes whose “opportunities and achievements are displaced or diminished.” The letter also warns of the greater risk of injuries and the liability and legal risks that come alongside such injuries.
“If active steps are not taken to ensure that the issues raised in this correspondence are satisfactorily resolved, and women and girls engaging with your organization remain exposed to these risks even in light of the clarified legal position, we reserve the right to take further steps, including litigation, to protect their interests,” the letter concludes.
The organizations accused of violating the act are Football Association of Wales, Irish Football Association, British Powerlifting, Swim England, British Gymnastics, Royal Yachting Association, Parkrun, British Baseball Federation, BaseballSoftballUK and Rounders England.
In an ADF International press release, Davies labeled the allowance of men in female sports a “true scandal,” in light of the Scotland Supreme Court ruling.
“Some organizations have merely acted to protect sport at the elite level, while allowing men to compete against women at the amateur level,” Davies said. “This is unacceptable—all women who play sport must be able to do so in a safe and fair environment. If they cannot, many women will simply opt out of sport. Women’s sport must be protected at all levels and the importance of this is underlined by the fact that professional female athletes are drawn from the amateur pool.”
Robert Clarke, barrister and director of advocacy for ADF International, called the violations a “serious breach” of the Equality Act 2010.
“The fight against gender ideology’s harmful effect on women’s sport and safety is a global one, and this case is the latest front in that battle,” Clarke said. “We are serious about this work as an organization. In the United States, ADF is litigating two cases in the Supreme Court to protect women’s sport.”
Last July, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Idaho’s Little v. Hecox, two cases in which ADF is defending state legislatures that bar male athletes who identify as women from playing on female teams.
