President Joe Biden’s administration late on Friday abandoned efforts to protect the right of trans athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identity. The U.S. Department of Education formally withdrew a proposed rule first drafted in April 2023 that would extend Title IX protections to protect transgender athletes’ right to play. The rule would have barred education institutions from denying student-athletes’ eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity. A memo detailing the decision to withdraw the rule cited a broad range of comments received by the federal agency and ongoing litigation with a number of states opposed to the rule.