What is the NCAA’s policy on transgender athletes?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA in an attempt to block trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. Paxton is a far-right ultra conservative who agrees with president-elect Donald Trump that trans athletes should not be allowed to compete.

Paxton argues that having trans athletes in women’s sports is misleading to fans and violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which is meant to protect consumers from being tricked into buying a product under false advertising.

What the NCAA policy says about trans athletes since 2022

Trans athletes have been permitted to compete in NCAA sports since 2010. The association established a policy that allowed transgender women to participate in women’s sports as long as they underwent at least a year of testosterone suppression therapy. Transgender men could compete on men’s teams, but not on women’s if they’d received testosterone treatment. This policy set the standard for transgender inclusion in sports at the time.

In 2020, things began to change. A political movement began after collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas received backlash for participating in a women’s sport. By 2022, the NCAA revised its policy governing eligibility for trans athletes in response to the backlash.

The NCAA says that the new policy was enacted as a way to be more in line with the national sports governing bodies. Rather than one uniform policy for all sports, the NCAA now uses the the policies for each governing body, which vary by sport. If a governing body has no policies regarding trans athletes, they will look to the international federation which oversees the sport. If there is still no policy from the international federation, they will follow the previously established Olympic policy criteria.

In addition, the organization requires that testosterone testing be required in championship windows at designated times throughout the year.

Paxton’s claim that the NCAA is endangering women and turning women’s sports into “co-ed competitions” is part of an ongoing attempt by transphobic conservative politicians to ban transgender athletes from competing in any sports at all.

The NCAA released a statement on Monday. “College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports, and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships.”

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