North Carolina House Bill 574 (HB 574), also known as the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, is a 2023 law in the state of North Carolina that prohibits transgender North Carolinian women from competing in women's K-12 or collegiate sports. It was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on July 5, 2023, but was overridden by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 16, becoming law immediately.
Only two transgender girls out of 180,000 student athletes in North Carolina are known to have been approved to compete in women's sports prior to the passage of House Bill 574.
House Bill 574 prohibits transgender women from competing in sports in K-12 schools and colleges or universities, applying to both public and private schools. It achieves this by restricting sports to biological sex, instead of gender. Transgender women who compete in sports in states without a similar ban are still allowed to compete in North Carolina.
The Alliance Defending Freedom applauded the legislature for overriding Governor Cooper's veto. State Senator Kevin Corbin, a Republican, referred to it as "common sense."
Equality North Carolina opposed House Bill 574 along with multiple other transgender-related bills, referring to it as the "slate of hate." Governor Cooper stated in reference to the overrides of his vetoes that the bills were "the wrong priorities" and pushed "political culture wars."