Chicago City Wire

Tom Schergen, principal of De La Salle Institute in Chicago, board member for Evergreen Park Community High School District 231 and a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors, has refused to comment on the organization’s stance regarding transgender athletes' participation in girl's sports.

Schergen’s multiple leadership roles adds further weight to the calls for transparency on the issue.

Schergen, who has served on the IHSA board since 2021, is one of 10 board members who have declined multiple requests for interviews on the issue.

The executive order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports," asserts that allowing biological males to compete in female athletic categories undermines fairness and safety, and threatens federal funding cuts to institutions that fail to comply. 

The silence of Schergen, alongside the rest of the IHSA Board, comes amid growing political pressure following the Feb. 5 signing of the order by President Donald Trump, which mandates that sports designated for women be reserved exclusively for biological females. 

In March, 40 Republican state lawmakers sent a letter to the IHSA clarifying on whether it would comply with the executive order. 

A New York Times/Ipsos poll found 79% of Americans—including 67% of Democrats—oppose biological males competing in women’s sports.

Despite this, the IHSA has announced that it will not comply with the order, citing conflicts with the Illinois Human Rights Act, which mandates that biological male transgender athletes be allowed to compete in female sports.

The refusal of Schergen and his colleagues to speak on the matter has drawn criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups, who accuse the IHSA of ignoring concerns over fairness and safety in girls' sports. 

As a prominent educational leader and athletic figure, Schergen's silence has drawn particular attention, given his leadership roles as a principal, school board member and as a member of the IHSA Board.

Schergen’s career includes a tenure as principal at IC Catholic Prep before taking on the leadership role at De La Salle, where he has served since 2020. He is well-regarded for his work in education and athletics, having held key roles in the Illinois Catholic Schools community. 

His refusal to engage with the ongoing debate has left many questioning where he stands on this controversial issue.

Despite mounting pressure, Schergen and the other board members have refused to comment publicly, even as the issue gains national attention. The board’s silence has fueled concerns among critics that the IHSA is avoiding a vital conversation about the future of women’s sports. 

As a respected figure in Illinois education, Schergen's refusal to address this divisive subject has raised questions about the IHSA’s ability to navigate the growing controversy surrounding transgender athlete participation.

With the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports continuing to intensify, many are urging Schergen and the IHSA Board to take a public stance and engage with the ongoing conversation before the issue becomes even more politically charged.

Critics of the IHSA are raising alarm over what they see as the association’s tendency to remain silent or defer action on contentious issues, drawing comparisons to its handling of COVID restrictions. 

This pattern of inaction by the IHSA has now extended to the issue of gender inclusion in sports, particularly around the topic of locker room privacy and participation in girls’ sports. 

“We’ve seen this story before,” State Rep. Regan Deering (R-Macon) told the Macon Reporter. “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.”

Both institutions where Schergen serves as a leader—De La Salle Institute and Evergreen Park Community High School District 231—maintained strict masking requirements, even for outdoor sports like golf and soccer, and enforced stringent COVID protocols, including a controversial ban on cheerleaders shouting, chanting, or singing during performances.

The criticism comes on the heels of the White House’s recent revision of its COVID-19 guidance, which acknowledged that public health officials have roundly failed to provide evidence that mask-wearing offered any protection against the virus.

The revised guidance also criticized past health directives for lacking transparency, a failure that contributed to widespread public distrust.