Athletes and Academics Launch Campaign To Protect Trans Women In Sport

A coalition of high-level athletes, academics and advocacy groups have urged the National Collegiate Athletic Association not to ban trans women from women’s college sports in the United States.

Over 400 Olympic, professional and college athletes signed a letter to the organisation stating that “opposition to trans athletes is driven by certain politicians who seek to control our bodies, not by science or data.”

“Although trans exclusionary efforts claim to ‘protect women’s sports,’ in reality, they fail to address any of the real, documented threats to women in sports, namely unequal pay, failure to uphold Title IX, rampant sexual abuse and harassment of women and girl athletes, and a lack of equal resources for men’s and women’s teams.”

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird join campaign to protect Trans Women in Sport

Organised by LGBTQIA+ sports advocacy organisation Athlete Ally, notable signatories include former U.S. Women’s National Team soccer co-captain Megan Rapinoe, ex-WNBA and Olympic basketball star Sue Bird, and former NFL player R.K. Russell.

Rapinoe has previously been outspoken on the issue of trans athletes, telling Time Magazine last year “Oh, now we care about fairness? Now we care about women’s sports? That’s total bullshit. And show me all the trans people who are nefariously taking advantage of being trans in sports. It’s just not happening.”

The athletes’ letter was accompanied by a lengthy letter signed by more than 300 academics, and another letter signed by over 100 advocacy organisations.

The NCAA responded by reaffirming its commitment to promoting Title IX, a federal law preventing sex discrimination in schools, and stating it had made unprecedented investments in women’s sports.

Since 2010, the NCAA has allowed trans people to compete in college sports under specific conditions.

In 2022, it announced a new approach, keeping the rule that trans women must be on testosterone suppressing medication, but delegating other guidelines to the governing bodies of individual sports.

The debate over trans athletes has intensified in recent years, with American women’s college sports a central battlefield.

In March, a group of swimmers and volleyball players sued the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships.

Lia Thomas, a trans woman, tied for 5^th place with Riley Gaines in the 200 yard freestyle final.

Gaines has since emerged as a vocal opponent of trans inclusion in women’s sports.

Since Thomas’ race, 25 states have tried to ban trans students from competing in the school sports team that aligns with their gender.

Injunctions have temporarily halted some of these laws.

The Biden administration recently revised Title IX regulations, clarifying its stance against LGBTQ discrimination in schools.

However, it’s walked back its initial promise of forbidding schools from enacting blanket bans on trans athletes.