Ex-Roanoke swimmer speaks out against Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger for axing women's sports protection
Former Roanoke College swimmer Lily Mullens, who helped lead a public stand against a transgender athlete joining her women’s team, is speaking out after Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration withdrew a proposed regulation intended to protect female-only sports and private spaces.
Mullens was one of three female swimmers who formally petitioned the Virginia State Board of Health to enact the regulation, along with Hungarian Olympian Réka György and former Roanoke teammate Carter Satterfield.
"Up until recently, due to Governor Youngkin’s leadership, which was founded in truth, Virginia was making tremendous strides toward finally doing the right thing and protecting females by keeping men out of women’s sports and spaces for good. However, under the new 'leadership' of Governor Spanberger, that progress has come to a screeching halt," Mullens told OutKick.
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR ABIGAIL SPANBERGER QUIETLY ROLLS BACK YOUNGKIN'S PLANS TO PROTECT GIRLS' SPORTS
"By failing to be open with the public about her decision months ago, she is signaling to the people of Virginia that she does not care about the female athletes in this state and she is aware that she is going against what the people want. As a woman herself, I had hoped that she would understand the importance of this issue and the petition I signed a year ago, but I have been proven wrong.
"As I continue to read about this failure and think about the current state of Virginia, I find myself questioning what kind of leader Spanberger wants to be. As someone with personal experience of what this situation can do to a team, a program, a school, or any person involved, I want to ask her why she would choose to be the type of leader who cowers to gender ideology. The type of leader whom people depend on, only to be let down. The type of leader who allows girls to feel inadequate and defeated, as my teammates and I once did.
"The truth is, and always will be, that men and women are biologically different. Virginia had a leader who understood this fact and did everything he could to protect women. I am saddened and disappointed to see such hard work thrown away, especially by a woman."
Mullens and several Roanoke College teammates attracted national attention in 2023 when they objected to a transgender student joining the women’s swimming team. The transgender swimmer ultimately withdrew from consideration before competing for the team.
Mullens, Satterfield and György later filed a petition asking the Virginia Board of Health to prevent biological males from participating on organized female-only athletic teams and entering female-designated spaces in which women and girls may be undressing.
The petition was filed in April 2025 and received more than 2,300 public comments. In August 2025, the Board of Health voted 14–0 to initiate a regulatory change.
The Youngkin administration subsequently approved a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action to begin developing the regulation. The notice was published in November 2025 and received another 321 public comments before the comment period ended in December.
However, the State Board of Health withdrew the regulatory action on July 30, approximately six months after Spanberger succeeded Youngkin as governor. The administration did not issue a news release announcing the decision at the time.
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"Upon review of statutory authority, the State Board of Health is not proceeding with this regulatory action," the official notice stated.
György has also criticized the administration’s decision.
"It’s really sad for me because I had the petition filed a year ago, and Youngkin approved it and wanted to take the next step and protect female athletes and female spaces in Virginia," György said.
György competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Virginia Tech swimmer finished 17th in the preliminary round of the 500-yard freestyle, one place outside the 16-swimmer finals field. Thomas advanced and went on to win the national championship.
György said the experience of competing against Thomas and sharing a women’s locker room with the transgender swimmer motivated her to advocate for sex-separated sports and private spaces.
During her 2025 gubernatorial campaign, Spanberger said Virginia previously had an effective process that allowed parents, schools, principals and coaches to evaluate transgender athletes’ participation individually. She said decisions should account for factors including a student’s age, the sport and the level of competition.
Spanberger's office has not responded to a request for comment.