NAIA
The NAIA voted to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports competitions yesterday, according to Bianca Quilantan of POLITICO. NAIA’s Council of Presidents “unanimously voted in favor” of the policy that says that “only students whose biological sex is female” may participate in women’s sports. But “all student athletes may participate in men’s sports.” The NAIA is believed to be the “first college sports association to implement such a ban.” Its policy will “take effect for the next school year on Aug. 1.” The policy has “already been met with swift criticism from LGBTQ advocacy groups,” which say that the policy could “push other governing bodies, like the NCAA, to follow suit.” But conservative-learning groups and advocates pushing back against transgender athlete participation in women’s sports “lauded the policy change and urged other associations to follow.” Quilantan noted the association had “previously allowed” transgender women athletes to compete on teams that aligned with their gender identity so long as they “first underwent a year of suppressing certain hormones” (POLITICO, 4/8).
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? In D.C., Kliegman & Dougherty noted the NCAA rules allow transgender athletes to “compete if they adhere to the guidelines of their international sport governing bodies.” The NCAA has “generally advocated” for inclusion but has “resisted pressure to pull championship events from states that prohibit transgender athletes from competing in publicly funded school sports.” Queer sports advocacy group Athlete Ally Dir of Research Anna Baeth said that “about 40 out trans athletes are thought to compete in NCAA sports.” The NCAA “most recently” updated its transgender eligibility policy in January 2022, in the run-up to the swimming championship meet. The organization “enacted a sport-by-sport approach” that requires athletes to adhere to guidelines dictated by their specific sport’s international governing body. That change is “still being phased in.” The NCAA BOG is next expected to meet April 25 (WASHINGTON POST, 4/8).
