Transgender Athletes Barred from Women’s Sports: NAIA’s Controversial New Policy
Athletes who have not started hormone therapy and whose biological sex assigned at birth is female will only be permitted to compete in NAIA-sponsored women’s sports, according to a transgender participation policy established by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Monday. All athletes will be permitted to compete in male sports under the policy.
“We are unwavering in our support of fair competition for our student-athletes,” NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr said in a news release. “It is crucial that NAIA member institutions, conferences, and student-athletes participate in an environment that is equitable and respectful. With input from our member institutions and the Transgender Task Force, the NAIA’s Council of Presidents has confirmed our path forward.”
Athletes who have not started masculinizing hormone therapy are free to compete in women’s sports under the new regulations. However, if an athlete has started hormone therapy, they are still able to train, practice, and take part in team sports but cannot compete in interscholastic competitions.
All sports will be subject to the transgender participation rules, with the exception of cheerleading and dance, which are coed.
A primarily small-scale college sports association, the NAIA is in charge of 241 schools and over 83,000 athletes who compete in over 25 sports.
As per the official statement, the organization established a transgender task committee in April 2022, whose objective was to ascertain whether the NAIA’s current transgender policy required any modifications, and if yes, to propose a new policy recommendation.
The NAIA’s Council of Presidents voted 20-0 to accept the new policy, which will go into effect on August 1, 2024, during its annual meeting.
“The updated NAIA policy attempts to balance the interests and obligations of the NAIA to 1) offer fair competition, 2) create a structure that allows members to comply with Title IX and other applicable laws, and 3) provide appropriate and reasonable opportunities for transgender athletes to compete,” the organization’s statement reads. “Input regarding transgender participation in athletics was obtained from members and student-athletes throughout the process, with feedback overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed policy.”
Hours after the NAIA made its policy changes, on Monday, the NCAA issued a statement of its own pertaining to women’s sports.
“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships,” the NCAA stated.
The NCAA is currently being sued by sixteen athletes who claim that by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, a member of the University of Pennsylvania women’s swim team, to compete in the NCAA swimming championships, the organization’s transgender participation policy “serially violated Title IX in 2022.”
Although the precise number of transgender athletes competing at the collegiate level is unknown, it is thought to be quite low.
When questioned about her position on the subject at a press conference on Saturday, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley stated that she is in favor of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“I’m on the opinion of, if you’re a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion,” stated Staley, whose Gamecocks won Sunday’s national title over Iowa.
(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)