Yesterday, the NCAA announced that it is changing its policy on transgender athlete participation. Under the new policy, participation rules will vary by sport and be subject to either the national governing body for that sport, international federation, or International Olympic Committee.
In response, APP President Terry Schilling released the following statement:
“The NCAA knows it has a problem. As the recent controversy over Penn swimmer Lia Thomas has made clear to so many Americans, allowing biological males to compete as females makes a mockery of women’s sports. It is unfair and demoralizing to female athletes, who are put at an inherent disadvantage. And it is only going to get worse over time.
“Faced with mounting pressure to address this, the NCAA has chosen the cowardly option of outsourcing its decision-making to other sports governing bodies. This is completely unacceptable. Responsibility for ensuring fairness in U.S. college athletics ultimately rests with the NCAA. They cannot shirk accountability for the ongoing destruction of women’s sports, and we must not allow them to.
“The NCAA should reverse course immediately and do the right thing for women athletes by ensuring they do not have to compete against biological males in their sports.”
