The success of the transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at UPenn has spurred the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to adopt a new policy on transgender athletes.
The new plan involves allowing individual sports to determine eligibility on their own. It sounds a bit like they’re passing the buck.
CBS News reports:
NCAA adopts new policy for transgender athletes, letting each sport set eligibility requirementsThe NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees.Under the new guidelines, approved by the NCAA Board of Governors on Wednesday, transgender participation for each sport will be determined by the policy for the sport’s national governing body, subject to review and recommendation by an NCAA committee to the Board of Governors.When there is no national governing body, that sport’s international federation policy would be in place. If there is no international federation policy, previously established IOC policy criteria would take over.”Approximately 80% of U.S. Olympians are either current or former college athletes,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a release. “This policy alignment provides consistency and further strengthens the relationship between college sports and the U.S. Olympics.”The NCAA policy is effective immediately, beginning with the 2022 winter championships.NCAA rules on transgender athletes returned to the forefront when Penn swimmer Lia Thomas started smashing records this year. She was on the men’s team her first three years, but she is competing for the women this season after transitioning.
The Independent Women’s Forum is not impressed with this decision:
IWLC And IWF Condemn NCAA Decision To Pass The Buck On Transgender IssueIndependent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) and Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) condemn the decision by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Wednesday to wash its hands of responsibility for determining who can participate in women’s sports. In so doing, the NCAA once again put female athletes last.The NCAA Board of Governors voted to adopt a sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation in women’s sports. The new policy, which is effective immediately, strongly endorses the participation of male-bodied athletes in women’s sports but asks the governing body for each sport to set particular testosterone requirements.A comprehensive review of the scientific literature released last summer by IWLCIWLC and IWF reveals that hormone therapy does not eliminate the male athletic advantage over females. The report also concludes that the participation of biological males in women’s sports takes away opportunities for women to merely compete. This violates Title IX, the federal law that guarantees equal educational opportunities for women, including in athletics.
Even Caitlyn Jenner is calling them out.
Funny how all that talk from the left about a “War on Women” a few years ago is nowhere to be found today.
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