A radical LGBTQ group has elicited the support of 400 athletes, including Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, urging the NCAA not to ban transgender athletes from college sports.
The letters sponsored by LGBTQ sports advocacy group Athlete Ally were sent to the NCAA on Tuesday to support male-born athletes competing as women in college sports, NBC News reported.
“We call on you to be on the right side of history and affirm that sport is truly for us all,” the letter signed by athletes, many of whom who are already retired, says. “Do not ban transgender women from NCAA women’s sports.”
Transgender woman Lia Thomas (L) of the University of Pennsylvania stands on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle as other medalists (L-R) Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan, and Brooke Forde pose for a photo at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship on March 17, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
In her own statement about the letter, Rapinoe pounces on advocates for saving women’s sports from the incursions of transgender players, saying those who claim they are “protecting women’s sports’ do not speak for us and do nothing to protect us.”
“The time is now for the NCAA and the nationwide athletic community to speak up and affirm that sports should be for everyone, including transgender athletes,” Rapinoe added.
In a response to the letter, the NCAA insisted that it would follow Title IX rules, and in a statement, said that “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.”
Joe Biden’s new changes to Title IX rules seem to make it clear that schools may not ban transgender athletes even though the word “transgender” was studiously avoided by the rules changes.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks after signing legislation giving $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in the State Dining Room at the White House on April 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Despite the Title IX rules, though, nearly half the states have rules banning or limiting transgender athlete participation in state-sponsored schools.
The NCAA has permitted some transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, but 2022 updated its inclusion rules to make trans participation a bit harder. The sports governing body changed its policy to a sport-by-sport basis instead of a blanket inclusion.
This year, though, a group of 17 House Republicans sent a letter of their own to the NCAA urging the organization to ban male-born athletes from competing as women. And 16 former NCAA female athletes sued the group for allowing men to play as women.
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