# JACKSON THOMPSON: Spanberger’s office refuses to hand over emails on decision to drop women’s sports petition

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/jackson-thompson-spanbergers-office-refuses-to-hand-over-emails-on-decision-to-drop-womens-sports-petition/
- Published: 2026-11-05T15:05:58+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T17:12:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/jackson-thompson-spanbergers-office-refuses-hand-over-emails-decision-drop-womens-sports-petition
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Spanberger’s office withheld records on the sports rule withdrawal.
- It cited several privileges and a state working papers exemption.
- The board said it lacked authority to proceed.

## Summary

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger’s office has refused to release records about the withdrawal of a proposed rule on participation in women’s and girls’ sports, citing executive privilege, attorney-client privilege and an exemption for gubernatorial working papers. The decision has drawn scrutiny because the rule-making effort, begun under her predecessor, Glenn Youngkin, was abandoned after the State Board of Health had approved the petition.

The office said it was withholding fewer than 100 documents, including duplicates, and described them as correspondence and deliberative materials. A narrower request for emails from other staff produced no records, with the office saying they could not be found or did not exist. The petition was approved 14–0 in August 2025; after Spanberger took office, the board withdrew it, saying it lacked statutory authority to proceed. Spanberger gave the same rationale in a September interview.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.