A group of GOP lawmakers pressed the NCAA in a Tuesday letter to “update” its “student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports.”
“Amid the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented attack on Title IX, we write to urge the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to update its student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports ,” said the letter, addressed to NCAA President Charlie Baker and signed by Republican Senators including Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), Katie Britt (Ala.) and Joni Ernst (Iowa), reads.
Earlier this year, hundreds of current and former college, professional and Olympic athletes lobbied for the NCAA not to ban transgender athletes from women’s college sports. Among those who signed the letter were former WNBA star Sue Bird and former United States Women’s National Team soccer phenom Megan Rapinoe.
“We implore you, the highest governing body of the NCAA and members of an organization focused on supporting the well-being of not just athletes but the sport itself, to focus on the long-documented needs of NCAA athletes of all backgrounds. genders,” said the athletes’ letter.
In their letter, Republican senators argued that the “science” on the issue “is clear.”
“Men have inherent athletic advantages over women due to their anatomy and biology – including having larger hearts, higher red blood cell counts, greater lung capacity, greater endurance, greater muscle mass, differences in bone density and geometry, and lower body fat. ,” the senators’ letter continues. “Consistently, when the athletic performance of adult men is contrasted with the athletic performance of adult women in sports that rely on endurance, muscular strength, speed and power, men dominate, outperforming women by 10 to 30 percent.”
Pro-LGBTQ advocates, including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), have pushed back against the bans prevent transgender athletes from competing in sports with others who have similar gender identities.
“Transgender youth experience all types of mistreatment (such as harassment, harsh discipline, or physical or sexual assault) because of their gender identity,” the HRC said on a webpage about transgender and non-binary athletes.
“There are many real challenges that transgender youth face, including mistreatment in schools, family rejection, threats of physical violence, and other discrimination,” the page continued. “Anti-trans sports bans risk further marginalizing young people who already face enormous challenges at school. Proponents of these bans suggest that trans athletes are pretending to be trans to perform well in sports – completely ignoring the incredible stigma that trans youth face.”
The Hill reached out to the NCAA.
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