Dupage Policy Journal

As public pressure mounts on the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to explain its refusal to enforce a federal executive order barring biological males from competing in female sports, one of its most prominent board members—D’Wayne Bates—has remained silent.

Bates, the longtime Assistant Principal for Athletics and Athletic Director at Glenbard East High School, also serves as the IHSA’s official representative to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), where he was appointed to a four-year board term in 2024. 

In fall of 2025, Bates is set to become Athletic Director at Adlai E. Stevenson High School.

Despite repeated requests, Bates has not responded to inquiries about the IHSA Board’s decision to reject compliance with President Donald Trump’s February executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

The executive order mandates that girls' and women’s athletic programs be reserved for biological females, citing Title IX protections and recent court rulings. It warns that institutions failing to comply will lose federal funding and directs the Departments of Education and Justice to enforce the policy. 

Yet the IHSA has taken a defiant stance, stating it will not follow the order due to what it describes as conflicting requirements under the Illinois Human Rights Act, which permits students to compete according to their gender identity.

While IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha confirmed no board vote has been taken on the transgender participation policy, all 10 board members—including Bates—have declined comment. The Board’s silence has drawn increasing criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers alike. The IHSA Board will next meet in mid May. 

The IHSA’s refusal to enforce the executive order has escalated into a national controversy. 

Forty Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the organization on March 17 urging compliance, warning that failure to do so jeopardizes federal funding and undermines the intent of Title IX. 

A recent New York Times/Ipsos poll shows widespread opposition to transgender women competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Seventy-nine percent of Americans, including 67% of Democrats, said biological males should not be allowed to participate in female athletic categories.

Still, Bates and other board members have yet to respond publicly—leaving female athletes, parents and critics demanding answers.

IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha, the only IHSA official to speak publicly, told the Prairie State Wire that the association has not changed its policy. 

“There has been no recent vote by the IHSA Board on this matter,” Troha said. “Per our letter, there is a law in Illinois that has existed for many years that allows participation by transgender student-athletes in IHSA State Series (post-season) competition. President Trump’s Executive Order obviously conflicts with that, and we have reached out to state lawmakers seeking clarification on remaining in legal compliance.”

Conservative group Awake Illinois condemned the IHSA's stance, saying it was “prioritizing ideology over the rights and safety of girls.”

Bates is among the most high-profile figures on the IHSA Board. 

A former NFL wide receiver with the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, Bates began his education career at Evanston Township High School after retiring from the NFL in 2005. He later worked at John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago and served as Director of Athletics and Student Activities at LaSalle-Peru Township High School before joining Glenbard East in 2015, where he oversees more than 30 sports programs and 2,000 student-athletes.

The controversy has sparked memories of earlier pandemic-era policies, such as when the IHSA enforced mask mandates for outdoor athletes during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons—even for sports like soccer, golf and track and field. Cheerleaders, meanwhile, were required to cheer silently. 

State Rep. Regan Deering (R-Macon) drew a direct line between the administration's COVID decisions and IHSA’s current stance on transgender athlete participation.

“We’ve seen this story before,” Deering said. “The Governor forced unlawful mask mandates on our schools, and it took brave families filing lawsuits to win back local control. Now it’s girls’ sports and locker room privacy.”

Notably, the White House updated its official coronavirus guidance in the past week, acknowledging that public health officials failed to provide consistent or conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of face masks.

Still, Bates’ current boss, Glenbard District 87 Superintendent David Larson and his associates were called out for hypocrisy during the pandemic. Larson once defended a COVID policy allowing for a basketball game to continue but cancelling a dance. In an email to parents, he claimed that basketball games are safer because “spectators are seated, usually facing in one direction,” unlike dances where students are “in physical proximity facing one another.” 

Glenbard West Principal Peter Monaghan echoed the sentiment and canceled the school’s February “Heart Hop” dance, citing concerns over mask enforcement. Monaghan’s justification came under fire after he was photographed mask-less at a televised basketball game days earlier.