The Council of Presidents for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) unanimously decided to exclude transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Only athletes who were assigned as female at birth will be permitted to participate in women’s sports under the new regulation.
NAIA president Jim Carr stated to CBS Sports the decision was to create fairness and competition.
“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there… For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA…
“We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
Record number of transgender
Carr said that as far as the NAIA is aware, no transgender athlete has ever participated in a postseason competition. Several states in the US have enacted legislation prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in sports.
But Dodd pointed out that the NAIA “is believed to be the first national college governing body to mandate that athletes compete according to assigned sex at birth.”
On the other hand, the International Olympic Committee’s policy on transgender athletes was essentially adopted by the NCAA when it was revealed in January 2022. It was decided that each sport’s governing body had the ability to set participation rules, rather than making a general ruling. The NCAA released a statement following the NAIA’s ruling.
“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 organization stated, according to Eric Olson of the Associated Press.
Moreover, according to statistics cited by Olson, transgender athletes make up a relatively small portion of the overall population in high school, and that percentage decreases as one moves up the ladder.
Cover Photo: Freepik
Source: Bleacher Report
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