West Central Reporter

Brad Gooding, principal of Hamilton High School and an elected member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors, is among the 10 IHSA board members who have not responded to repeated interview requests regarding the organization's refusal to comply with a federal executive order banning biological males from competing in female sports.

Gooding, who represents Division 6 on the IHSA Board, joined the association’s leadership in October 2023 as its only new member during that round of elections. 

His silence—alongside the rest of the IHSA Board—has drawn mounting criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups at a time when national attention is sharply focused on the issue of transgender participation in school sports. 

The IHSA has confirmed that no recent vote has been held by its board regarding transgender athlete eligibility, despite the growing political and legal pressure to revisit its current policy. 

That policy allows transgender biological males to play female sports, in accordance with the Illinois Human Rights Act. 

However, a recent New York Times/Ipsos poll shows widespread opposition to biological males competing in women's sports, with 79% of respondents, including 67% of Democrats, against the practice.

While Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha stated the IHSA remains bound by state law and does not receive federal or state funding, critics argue the Board’s refusal to engage publicly is unacceptable given the significance of the issue. 

That sentiment came in response to a March letter signed by 40 Republican state lawmakers seeking clarification on whether the IHSA would comply with President Trump's executive order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports," which bans men from women’s athletics and threatens to revoke federal funding from non-compliant institutions.

State Rep. Regan Deering (R-Macon) has criticized IHSA’s lack of independence and strict adherence to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s gender policy noting Pritzker and the IHSA have been aligned against parents’ rights in the recent past as well. 

“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.” 

Prior to his current role at Hamilton High School, which he assumed in 2023, Gooding served as principal at Rushville-Industry High School for six years where sports were cancelled during the Covid pandemic. 

Masks were required for IHSA athletes in Illinois during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons for outdoor sports such as soccer, golf and track and field, an action enforced by the IHSA despite a lack of evidence to support the practice. Additionally, cheerleaders were forced to cheer in silence. 

Notably, the White House updated its official coronavirus guidance in the past week, acknowledging that public health officials failed to provide evidence that masks provided any protection during the Covid pandemic.

During Gooding’s tenure, Rushville-Industry High School was referenced in a 2021 lawsuit filed by a local parent challenging Illinois' COVID restrictions in schools.    

The complaint alleged that the plaintiff’s child, a student athlete and musician, "has been prevented from playing football and as a result he has become depressed" after being barred from sports participation due to pandemic mandates—raising early concerns about student mental health and fairness in extracurricular access that echo today's national sports policy debates.

Gooding’s career in education spans more than 30 years and includes roles as a teacher, coach and administrator at Southeastern, Palmyra (Missouri), Unity, Illini West and Rushville-Industry. He is also a longtime high school basketball official. 

Despite this extensive public service record, Gooding has not addressed the current controversy or clarified his position on the IHSA’s noncompliance with the federal directive. 

In 2015, Gooding abruptly resigned as principal of Illini West High School, citing “personal reasons.” 

At the time, local media reported rumors of wrongdoing. 

“Rumors circulated that the resignation came after some type of wrong-doing,” KHQA-TV reported at the time.

However, specifics were never disclosed. “It was in our best interest to accept that resignation,” then-school board president Tom Holtsclaw told KHQA-TV. 

The board declined to elaborate further.