WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Republican lawmakers excoriated the head of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) this week over allowing biological men to compete as and against female athletes, pressing him to answer uncomfortable questions about gender ideology and basic fairness.
The Washington Stand reported that NCAA president Charlie Baker, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts who took over the collegiate athletics governing body last year, appeared before a Senate hearing ostensibly about sports betting, during which a number of senators took the opportunity to confront him about allowing gender-confused players to compete on teams intended for the opposite sex.
Current NCAA transgender policy leaves decisions on transgender participation “for each sport to be determined by the policy for the national governing body of that sport. If there is no NGB policy for a sport, it would then be determined by the policy for that sport’s international federation.” Beyond that, transgender players must meet certain criteria for testosterone levels, and the NCAA’s Office of Inclusion and Sport Science “support(s) an inclusive environment that promotes and develops the mental and physical health of transgender and non-binary student-athletes in collegiate sport.”
During the hearing, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana asked if it was true that “a biological male is always going to have a physical and physiological advantage competing in the collegiate sport against a biological female.” Baker initially responded that it was “debatable,” but eventually conceded that Kennedy was correct.
In that case, the senator followed up, “why does the NCAA (…) support allowing transgender women who are biological males to compete against non-transgender biological females?” Baker insisted it came down to the law not granting sufficient “clarity” on whether the NCAA has the latitude to govern differently: “Because federal courts have already taken the position that they do have the right to compete five times in the past year and a half.”
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri picked up the line of inquiry, noting “there’s no federal law that requires it. The relevant federal law is Title IX, is it not?” Baker suggested that Biden administration “guidance” on the subject tied his hands, but Hawley rejected what he called that “canard.”
“No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological men in women’s sports. There’s not a single case that has ordered the NCAA to do so.” Baker insisted the legal outcome was “pretty much” the same, to which Hawley took exception.
“Your rules have not been tried in federal court, and your rules explicitly permit biological males in women’s sports,” he went on. “And I am asking you, why is that fair to the women? All of these women on these teams had to forfeit games and therefore a chance to compete in the championship because of your rules. And I want to know why is that protective of women?”
Baker continued to insist that NCAA policy is compelled by “federal policy,” while at the same time “we believe our policy,” which Hawley slammed as a “cop-out” before turning to the subject of letting males use female lockers and showers.
Baker denied that was NCAA policy, but Hawley quoted the organization’s guidelines to him directly: “transgender student-athletes should be able to use the locker room, shower, and toilet facilities in accordance with their gender identity.” Baker responded that “and then everybody else should have an opportunity to use other facilities if they wish to do so”; Hawley expressed incredulity at the notion that “the burden is on the women” to “abandon their own locker room.”
Mandatory inclusion of gender-confused individuals in opposite-sex sports is promoted as a matter of “inclusivity,” but critics note that indulging “transgender” athletes undermines the original rational basis for having sex-specific athletics in the first place, thereby depriving female athletes of recognition and professional or academic opportunities.
There have been numerous high-profile examples in recent years of men winning women’s competitions, and research affirms that physiology gives males distinct athletic advantages that cannot be fully negated by hormone suppression.
In a 2019 paper published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, New Zealand researchers found that “healthy young men [do] not lose significant muscle mass (or power) when their circulating testosterone levels were reduced to (below International Olympic Committee guidelines) for 20 weeks,” and “indirect effects of testosterone” on factors such as bone structure, lung volume, and heart size “will not be altered by hormone therapy;” therefore, “the advantage to transwomen [biological men] afforded by the [International Olympic Committee] guidelines is an intolerable unfairness.”
Even the left-wing United Nations has acknowledged as much, via an October report by Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem, which found that more than 600 female athletes around the world have lost more than 890 medals to men in 29 sports as of March 2024. “To avoid the loss of a fair opportunity, males must not compete in the female categories of sport,” the report concluded.
Critics also argue that forcing girls to share intimate facilities such as bathrooms, showers, or changing areas with members of the opposite sex violates their privacy rights, subjects them to needless emotional stress, and gives potential male predators a viable pretext to enter female bathrooms or lockers by simply claiming transgender status.
Both aspects of the controversy have been highlighted by former University of Pennsylvania swimmer William “Lia” Thomas, who reportedly retains male genitalia and is still attracted to women yet “identifies” as female and lesbian. Thomas quickly started dominating women’s swimming after switching from the men’s team and has caused his female teammates unrest due to sharing lockers with them. Yet the NCAA reportedly pressured swimmers and their parents against speaking out.
“While other sports organizations like the NAIA, LPGA, and USGA have acted to correct the fool’s errand of prioritizing the feelings of trans-identifying males over the rights of female athletes, Baker pathetically blame-shifts and stonewalls,” Concerned Women for America senior adviser Doreen Denny told the Stand. “Baker has proven his incompetence as a leader in college sports by denying responsibility to uphold Title IX and protect female athletes. If Baker isn’t fit to lead, he needs to go. College women athletes deserve better.”