Sports
Introducing the most dangerous pass in football
A sharp, anxious intake of breath, followed by a round of applause that carries a mixture of quiet admiration and, more than anything, relief. On other occasions, it ends with supporters shaking their heads and asking why.
We are talking about the crowd reaction to — and I’m borrowing this description from a colleague who is a regular at Stamford Bridge — “the most dangerous pass in football”.
It’s the short, vertical ball from the goalkeeper to — typically, but not always — the midfield pivot, who is receiving under pressure, back to goal and close to their own penalty area.
Exhibit A: Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez trying, and failing, to pass to Moises Caicedo against Brighton earlier this season, when Carlos Baleba scored.
What a season Carlos is having! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/D7qC37kvwb
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 29, 2024
It was a case of role reversal for Baleba against Fulham when Alex Iwobi profited from a stray pass from the Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Forcing the error. 👊 pic.twitter.com/g0Jmd2O2LN
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 6, 2024
As for Chelsea, they got their own back at Southampton, where Noni Madueke read Joe Lumley’s pass (35 seconds onwards in the clip below) to Kyle Walker-Peters and set up Christopher Nkunku for their second goal.
Tune into all of Wednesday night’s action. 📺#CFC | #SOUCHE pic.twitter.com/zY3em5RMBA
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 5, 2024
Fulham? It’s a minor miracle they didn’t concede against Newcastle when Bernd Leno signposted a pass to Emile Smith Rowe and Newcastle’s players were left shaking their heads in disbelief after Fabian Schar somehow failed to score.
Brentford had a reprieve against Ipswich, who were perilously close to serving a goal up on a plate to West Ham in October. A VAR offside call rescued Tottenham Hotspur’s Fraser Forster at Bournemouth, whose goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, was lucky that Gabriel Martinelli didn’t punish him for a loose straight ball against Arsenal, which is where Mads Hermansen passed Leicester and Harry Winks into trouble (see below) in September.
As for Manchester United, the awful goal they conceded against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League last week was yet another example.
The list goes on and on and, in many ways, provides fuel for those who wonder why so many teams continue to take such chances playing out from the back and in particular by using this type of pass.
There are probably a few ways to answer that question. The first thing to say is that, on a broader level, the coaches that play this way believe it makes far more sense to attack in a controlled way, in possession, through a mix of established principles and rehearsed movement patterns, even if that leads to the odd mistake, rather than tossing a coin and hoping it lands heads up — which is how they view knocking longer balls forward.
The second point — and this shines through when you discuss some of the incidents highlighted above with coaches who are proponents of this style of play – is that the execution of that bounce pass close to goal, taking in the decision-making around it, the positioning, and the movement and the timing, is the problem when it goes wrong, not the pass itself.
Third, it’s inevitable that the moments when it breaks down will get far more attention than the good passages of play.
Before we look at some more examples, it’s worth pointing out that some Premier League clubs — or maybe that should be ‘some Premier League managers and goalkeepers’ — have little or no inclination to play this game of risk and reward. The goalkeepers at Bournemouth (Arrizabalaga went off-piste against Arsenal), Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in particular tend to play short sideways passes in build-up or go long.
In fact, even when the No 6 drops deep to receive a vertical ball in space with no sign of any pressure, the pass is often turned down by their goalkeepers. Below is Nottingham Forest’s Danilo, arms outstretched, asking for a ball he was never going to receive from the goalkeeper, Matz Sels.
Newcastle’s Nick Pope does the same (Bruno Guimaraes is pointing out that Sandro Tonali is free below)…
… as does Everton’s Jordan Pickford.
That said, Pickford bizarrely deviated from the script at Arsenal on Saturday. What followed was a car-crash moment between him and James Tarkowski, as the Everton goalkeeper bobbled a pass that the centre-back struggled to control, encouraging Martinelli to press. The expressions on the faces of the two Everton players afterwards said it all.
Time to look at some passages of play that show the reward and not just the risk, beginning with Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea in November.
Declan Rice is the player to watch here. He takes up a starting position behind Nicolas Jackson, on the opposite side to the free man (William Saliba) he wants to find after Arsenal have provoked Chelsea’s press with a short goal kick.
Cole Palmer makes the standard run (curved) for any player leading the press in this situation, attempting to force the ball one way. Jackson, meanwhile, is ready to jump to Gabriel if David Raya returns the pass.
Timing and understanding are absolutely key to what happens next. Rice waits until Palmer gets closer to Raya and then runs on the blind side of Jackson to receive a soft pass in front of him that…
… he can play first time to Saliba, and Arsenal are out.
It is a pattern you will see again and again at Arsenal and elsewhere.
Below is an example of Ryan Gravenberch doing the same thing for Liverpool on the opening day at Ipswich.
Gravenberch is an interesting player to watch when receiving straight passes because of his exceptional ability to take the ball under pressure on the half-turn. In the image below, Chelsea’s Romeo Lavia is pressing him.
But Caoimhin Kelleher’s pass is ‘safe side’ (away from where Lavia is approaching), and Gravenberch is a master of getting his body between the opponent and the ball to protect and turn in one motion.
Not only are Arsenal and Liverpool retaining possession in these images, but they’re also taking opposition players out of the game while building an attack.
Take a look at this example of Manchester City playing out against Liverpool at Anfield at the start of December. The image that starts this phase of play is remarkable and, in many ways, captures the modern game: Ruben Dias is playing one-versus-one against Luis Diaz, 10 yards out, with nobody in goal (Stefan Ortega is on the corner of the six-yard box, out of picture).
As soon as Dias passes to Ortega, Manuel Akanji knows he has to connect with the City goalkeeper. Cody Gakpo, circled on the left, is already anticipating the pattern and preparing to press Dias.
The natural thing for Akanji to do — and what happens 99 times out of 100 — would be to pass to Dias.
Indeed, Mario Lemina did exactly that against Liverpool in September. Salah read him like a book but, uncharacteristically for him, shot wide of an open goal.
Akanji, however, scanned prior to receiving from Ortega and, aided by Dias also pointing where to play next, recognised both the need and the opportunity for a different (and much more progressive) pass to Kyle Walker.
As the City right-back travels forward, a line of four Liverpool players are out of the game.
But that’s Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, I hear you say. What about clubs outside the traditional ‘Big Six’?
Brentford are a fascinating case study, in part because of their evolution under Thomas Frank. The percentage of long passes from their goalkeepers has dropped by a third in less than two years. Furthermore, the bounce pass to play out has been used frequently this season and with the exception of a mix-up against Ipswich that went unpunished and a slightly nervy moment in the first half against Chelsea on Sunday, it has worked extremely well.
The example below is from Brentford’s game against Villa and starts with Ethan Pinnock passing a goal kick to Mark Flekken. Vitaly Janelt’s clean technique and game intelligence really stand out in these scenarios.
In the image below, Janelt has his right hand outstretched, preaching calm and telling Flekken to wait as Ollie Watkins starts to make that familiar curved run. Clearly, this passage of play asks a lot of Flekken — or any goalkeeper. It’s not just about being good with their feet; they need to be calm, trust their team-mates, and make smart decisions in response to the opposition press.
When Watkins gets closer, Janelt makes his move, arriving at pace and running off the back of John McGinn, who has his eyes on Flekken and Pinnock.
Youri Tielemans leaves Yehor Yarmoliuk and jumps, along with McGinn, to press Janelt. But the Brentford midfielder and Flekken have worked it perfectly and Nathan Collins is ‘out’.
Three Villa players have been bypassed as Collins drives forward and…
… a few seconds later, Yoane Wissa has the ball inside the Villa half and Brentford have a four-versus-four attack.
The instinct is to say that the passages of play highlighted above look relatively straightforward. In reality, they require hours and hours of practice on the training ground as well as players who have both the technical ability and the mental fortitude to handle the ball in these situations and deal with the crowd anxiety. Indeed, that leads into a question that football fans will often ask about their team: are our players good enough to play this way?
Let’s analyse some clips of where it goes wrong.
The clip below is from Manchester United’s game against Tottenham in September. Diogo Dalot, playing the role of auxiliary No 6, receives a straight pass from Onana with his back to goal. Both United centre-backs — Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez — are higher than you would expect in this scenario.
Normally, the pass made from the player occupying Dalot’s position here would be first time and with the left foot given where Dejan Kulusevski is pressing. But Dalot takes a touch to control with his right foot…
… turns his whole body around and passes with his right foot, too, allowing Kulusevski to get close to blocking. That extra touch also means Brennan Johnson is able to press Martinez easier (admittedly, Martinez’s lack of depth doesn’t help).
Panicked, Martinez blindly helps the ball on…
… and Pedro Porro is now on the attack for Spurs.
Some coaches are a lot more detailed with their messages than others. They will talk, for example, about the importance of goalkeepers receiving the ball in a neutral position, so that the opponent leading the press doesn’t know which side to jump and also discourage goalkeepers from making sweeping actions with their passes (picture that awkward Pickford ball to Tarkowski at Arsenal) to prevent the ball arriving with a bounce or with spin on it.
In other words, completing a pass to a team-mate isn’t enough when playing out against a press; it’s about giving the player receiving the ball the best possible opportunity of making their next action perfect — after all, multiple passes will often be required. It’s interesting to hear Liverpool players talking about how their manager, Arne Slot, has stopped training sessions because passes have not been played to the back foot of the receiver.
The problem with one sloppy pass is that it often leads to another. In the next photo, the Ipswich goalkeeper, Arijanet Muric, plays a ball around Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke using the outside of his right foot. It’s high risk and comes off, but the pass isn’t easy for Sam Morsy to play first time and that contributes to the next pass being untidy…
… which ends up with Dara O’Shea jumping to try to get the ball under control and encouraging Spurs to press even more.
Ipswich are committed to playing out from the back under Kieran McKenna and their build-up involves a lot of straight passes that they generally execute well — the montage below is from Saturday’s game at Wolves.
McKenna — and this feels important for any coach who wants to play this way — took time to explain his philosophy to the Ipswich fans to try to manage the apprehension that often builds in stadiums during these phases of play.
Away from home can be more challenging, though, and rival supporters will revel in the sort of moment that Ipswich endured at West Ham earlier in the season.
The first thing that jumps out when you watch the passage below is the setup. As well as being very close to the penalty area, both of Ipswich’s defensive midfielders, Morsy and Kalvin Phillips, are marked from behind before the goal kick and that feels like a red flag.
Morsy is unable to arrive at speed or on the blind side of an opponent. As for Phillips, he makes the penalty area more crowded by dropping inside and bringing Lucas Paqueta with him.
In fact, Phillips almost gets in the way of Morsy’s pass…
… which ends up at the feet of Paqueta.
Amid a scene of chaos in the Ipswich penalty area, O’Shea clears off the line.
On the subject of overcrowding, there were 14 players (8 v 6) in a tight space when Southampton tried to play out against Villa this month (see the image below). Southampton survived this one, but they conceded against Liverpool in a not-dissimilar fashion and there was the Chelsea goal, too.
Watching Southampton this season, it was hard to avoid the conclusion that neither Lumley nor Alex McCarthy, both of whom deputised for the injured Aaron Ramsdale, were equipped to play Russell Martin’s brand of football at this level — and maybe they weren’t alone.
Clearly, there are times when the straight pass isn’t on and the goalkeeper needs to adopt a more pragmatic approach. Fulham’s Sander Berge is pictured below signalling to Leno that he should miss him out and go over the top of Brighton’s aggressive press.
Getting caught in two minds is probably the worst position for a goalkeeper to be in and that’s what happened to Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario against Brentford (below). It’s almost as if Vicario is so programmed to play that straight pass (it’s central to the way Spurs build up under their manager Ange Postecoglou) that he doesn’t recognise an alternative. Fabio Carvalho capitalised on Vicario’s indecision but, to the Spurs goalkeeper’s credit, he recovered and denied Bryan Mbeumo moments later.
Both Vicario and Forster, his deputy, have had their share of close shaves this season, most recently at Bournemouth a couple of weeks ago, where Kulusevski felt like a sitting duck for Tyler Adams when the straight pass arrived.
On Sunday, against Southampton, Spurs were at it again right from the kick-off.
Four passes later, James Maddison was running through on goal and putting his team 1-0 up.
The risk, Postecoglou and others will argue, is worth the reward.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Meech Robinson)
PHILADELPHIA — To many around the sport, the Dodgers have become villains for the way they’ve outspent the rest of the league, loaded their roster with international talent, and stockpiled depth at seemingly every position.
To the Phillies, however, it makes them the standard; one with which their own big-money, star-studded roster is trying to compete.
“I don’t know if people will like this,” said the Phillies’ biggest star, two-time MVP Bryce Harper, when asked about the Dodgers on Friday afternoon, “but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team, they’re a great organization. That’s why guys want to go there and play.”
In other words, Harper added, “they’re doing what the Dodgers do.”
That’s why, on Friday night, there was a distinct buzz around Citizens Bank Park when the Dodgers came to town. Why, for the first week of April, this series had a litmus-test kind of feel.
“I think that both teams like to use each other as a barometer, or a benchmark,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
But right now, no team sets the bar higher than the Dodgers.
And for one night, at least, the first-place Phillies were able to measure up.
In a 3-2 defeat of the Dodgers, the Phillies handed the defending World Series champions their first loss of the season; dropping the Dodgers to 8-1 in a game that, yes, proved this year’s $400 million team is, in fact, beatable.
Philadelphia first baseman Bryce Harper, left, tags out Dodgers baserunner Andy Pages in a rundown during the sixth inning Friday.
(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Knocking off the Dodgers was no easy feat.
Over six innings against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Phillies had only one unearned run, when Yamamoto misfired on a pick-off throw to third that allowed Trea Turner to score.
Philadelphia’s starter, burgeoning 27-year-old left-hander Jesús Luzardo, produced one of his best career starts, blanking the Dodgers over seven scoreless innings on two hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.
And the few times the Dodgers did have opportunities to erase the deficit, they squandered them.
Andy Pages got picked off to end the sixth inning. Kiké Hernández struck out with two aboard to end the seventh. Shohei Ohtani was caught trying to steal second with runners on the corners to end the eighth. Then, after Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the ninth, the game ended with yet another out on the bases, with Chris Taylor getting tagged at second for a strikeout-caught stealing double-play.
Such are the kind of performances that will likely be needed this season to beat the Dodgers, whose perfect start to the season fell two wins shy of the all-time franchise record of 10-0 set by the 1955 “Boys of Summer” World Series squad.
Such is the standard that rival National League contenders like the Phillies (6-1), San Francisco Giants (6-1) and San Diego Padres (who also lost their perfect record Friday, dropping to 7-1) are all trying to match.
“There’s a mutual respect,” Roberts said of the Phillies. “I enjoy playing these guys.”
As for Harper’s comments about people who take issue with the Dodgers’ way of doing business?
“I guess that’s probably why Bryce is one of my favorite players,” Roberts said with a laugh. “I agree.”
Sports
How do Nottingham Forest keep beating the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ with hardly any of the ball?
Have Nottingham Forest worked out a foolproof method of beating the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’?
Tuesday’s 1-0 victory against Manchester United took them to 18 points from a possible 30 in their head-to-head encounters with the Premier League’s historical and financial giants so far this season.
Of the division’s other 14 clubs, only Brighton and Hove Albion can match Forest’s rate of success against Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this season, and crucially, those points have put Forest into an extremely strong position in the race for Champions League qualification.
But whereas Brighton often go toe-to-toe stylistically with their more illustrious opponents, the manner in which Forest have achieved their results is even more remarkable.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side rarely dominate the ball — their 32 per cent average possession is the lowest of any team in these matches. They also create relatively little — no side has a lower average xG in fixtures against the ‘Big Six’ — and they press less intensely than any other side in the division.
So how, despite seemingly lacking the hallmarks of a successful modern side, have they done it? Let’s break it down.
Nuno celebrates with Anthony Elanga after the victory against Manchester United in midweek (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
While Forest have admittedly created little in ‘Big Six’ encounters, they have been highly effective at stifling their opponents at the other end. Among all games involving ‘Big Six’ teams this season, Forest’s fixtures have the lowest average combined xG at just 2.3. In matches like these where opportunities are at a premium, the opening goal becomes all the more decisive — and Forest have developed a knack for striking first, scoring the opener in 24 of their 30 league matches, more than any other side in 2024-25.
Their ability to restrain opposition attacks stems from a combination of a compact shape, direct approach, and the speed of their transitions. The results are a record of just one goal conceded in five home games against the ‘Big Six’ so far this season, with just Chelsea to come.
Chance creation from fast breaks is a key feature of many ‘Big Six’ teams — five of the six rank in the top six for xG from counter-attacks (Manchester City being the exception, with their more methodical build-up). But Forest rarely overcommit in possession and therefore find themselves less exposed than most teams — shown by the fact they have conceded the second-lowest xG from fast breaks in the Premier League this season.
A big reason for that is the discipline of their midfield pivots — typically Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez — who tend to hold their positions rather than making late runs into the box. Data from Footovision shows that the average distance between Forest’s midfield and defensive lines in these games is just 11.6 metres — the lowest of any team against ‘Big Six’ opposition.
That compactness carries over to their out-of-possession structure too, except here Nuno Espirito Santo generally instructs his front four to push high, apply pressure and block passing lanes, while the midfield stays deeper to provide cover.
Below is a typical example against Manchester City, where the front four are engaged in disrupting their opponent’s build-up, yet there is a large space in behind with the midfield opting to stay back and provide additional protection. The distance between Forest’s attacking and midfield lines is the sixth-highest in the league, evidence of this defined split of roles: Forest’s attackers stay high, the rest of the team stay as compact as possible.
When City do manage to play through the initial press, Forest retreat swiftly into a low block, leaving only talisman Chris Wood ahead of the ball.
This tight defensive shape frustrates even the best sides, and they often resort to attempting low-quality chances from distance. The graphic below shows where ‘Big Six’ teams are shooting from against Forest compared to other opponents. Shots from outside the box are more common, particularly in the left channel where the figure of 13 per cent is significantly higher than six per cent elsewhere.
Plenty of left-sided attempts were on show when Manchester United came to the City Ground this week, with Alejandro Garnacho a repeat offender.
Forest’s narrow structure often encourages switches of play, and here Dalot successfully finds Garnacho with a crossfield pass. But as the second slide shows, by the time Garnacho manoeuvres himself into a shooting position, Forest have bodies back in position cutting off shooting angles, and the Argentinian winger fires a wayward effort into the stands.
This defensive discipline isn’t just reserved for the big occasions — it’s something Forest have improved across the board. The average distance of shots faced has increased each season, and the jump this campaign is particularly notable.
But Nottingham Forest’s impressive points haul hasn’t come solely from a disciplined defensive setup — they’ve also needed their forwards to deliver at the other end.
Before Forest’s 1-0 home win over Manchester City, Pep Guardiola described Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, Wood, and Morgan Gibbs-White as “exceptional players.” That assessment proved prophetic when Hudson-Odoi netted a late winner for Forest.
Hudson-Odoi scores against Manchester City in March 2025 (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Each of Forest’s attacking quartet brings something different to the table, but their skill sets complement each other effectively to provide a vital creative edge — particularly during attacking transitions, which have been a consistent source of goals against ‘Big Six’ opposition.
Although Forest often find themselves outnumbered when they break due to their defensive priorities, they consistently punch above their weight thanks to Elanga and Hudson-Odoi’s ball-carrying threat, Gibbs-White’s creativity, and Wood’s clinical finishing.
This counter-attacking prowess was on full display during Forest’s 1-0 win at Anfield earlier in the season — their first there since 1969. The winning goal began deep in their own half, where Forest regained possession before Gibbs-White picked out Elanga with a smart around-the-corner pass into the right channel.
Elanga then surged forward and delivered a pinpoint cross-field ball to Hudson-Odoi on the opposite flank, who cut inside and curled a composed finish beyond Alisson.
Trademark Callum Hudson-Odoi 🤌
Our winning goal at Anfield 😍 pic.twitter.com/bfYzP75kbI
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) September 14, 2024
Hudson-Odoi’s clinical strike came from a low-percentage opportunity, and it would be remiss not to acknowledge the role of fortune in Forest’s season.
They’ve scored 50 goals from an expected goals tally of just 38 — the biggest over-performance in the division. While consistently taking the lead speaks to their quality, doing so as frequently as they have also enables them to execute their game plan more effectively, maintaining that compact shape rather than being forced to chase games.
Still, Forest have earned their share of good fortune this season. Their standout performances against the league’s most established sides have showcased the qualities that justify their lofty position in the table.
Nuno’s team may not play like a modern super club — but when facing teams that do, they’ve consistently found a way to thrive.
(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)
Five weeks after Maine state representative Laurel Libby was censured for a social media post identifying a trans athlete, a free speech group has filed an amicus brief in support of her lawsuit to overturn the censure.
The free speech group FIRE, in its brief, argued against the basis of the censure, which was imposed by the Democrat majority and Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau.
“If political majorities can impose draconian sanctions on political minorities, then no viewpoint is safe. That’s no way to uphold America’s robust commitment to free and open political speech, and that’s why the First Amendment forbids officials from retaliating against dissenting views,” FIRE supervising senior attorney JT Morris told Fox News Digital.
Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby is sounding the alarm over the state’s defiance of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order demanding an end to biological males competing in women’s sports. (Getty/Maine House of Representatives)
The basis of Libby’s censure was that she made a post that identified a minor by name and photo when she called out a trans pole vaulter who won a girls’ competition for Greely High School. However, the trans athlete had already been publicized in other local media prior to Libby’s post.
The other media included a post on the Maine House Democrats’ website, the amicus brief alleges.
All of Maine’s federal judges have recused themselves from the case.
The judges, John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen, signed recusal orders on Tuesday, shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was provided for the judges’ recusal. The case has since been referred to the District of Rhode Island, according to multiple reports.
Fecteau, who passed the censure, is the main defendant in the lawsuit, alongside House of Representatives clerk Robert Hunt. The Maine Attorney General’s Office will represent Fecteau.
Libby’s lawsuit seeks to have her voting and speaking rights restored. Fecteau previously said Libby’s rights would be restored after she apologizes, which she does not intend to do. Libby told Fox News Digital in a previous interview that she encourages Fecteau to restore her rights to avoid taking the case to court and costing taxpayers the price of any potential litigation.
MAINE GIRL INVOLVED IN TRANS ATHLETE BATTLE REVEALS HOW STATE’S POLICIES HURT HER CHILDHOOD AND SPORTS CAREER
Libby represents more than 9,000 constituents in Maine’s House District 90, and six of them have signed on to the lawsuit as plaintiffs, because the censure has impeded her ability to help carry out other legislative actions to serve those constituents.
On March 20, Libby was permitted to speak and present 10 amendments during a vote of the state’s bi-annual budget. One of those amendments was not related to the budget, but was a proposal to keep trans athletes out of girls’ sports.
However, when Libby did speak to present her amendments, multiple Democrats protested, instigating a debate with Republican representatives. Ultimately, Libby’s amendments were not even considered, and Democrats moved to have the amendments indefinitely postponed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday a pause and an ongoing review of federal funding to Maine after the state refused to provide equal opportunities to women and girls in educational programs.
The state has refused to comply with President Donald Trump’s February executive order to ban trans athletes from girls and women’s sports, prompting immense federal pressure. Trump initially vowed to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with the order during a Feb. 20 speech, days after Libby made her social media post.
More potential sanctions could be coming to the state in the next week.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) on Monday, advising a final deadline of April 11 to address the issue or risk a second referral to the Department of Justice. The Department of Health and Human Services referred Maine to the DOJ last week.
A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed that it is “only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women.”
The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women’s and girls’ sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18.
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