As NCAA Transgender Athletes Await Court Decision, Crucial Tidbit Brought to Light

It was looking like the tide might be turning in favor of tra**gender athletes, including Lia Thomas, with the hope that they would continue to compete in women’s sports under the current NCAA guidelines. The NCAA had created a system where tra**gender women could compete, with regulations evolving. After 2011, the NCAA allowed each sport to set its policies, following national or international rules, and in the absence of specific guidelines, they defaulted to the IOC’s 2015 regulations. With this structure, it seemed like tra**gender athletes had a fair shot to be part of collegiate sports.

But when it seemed like things might stay on track, new developments shook things up. In 2022, World Aquatics implemented a ban on tra**gender women in women’s events, a policy that some began calling the “Lia Thomas Rule” after she made history as the first tra**gender woman to win an individual NCAA Division I championship. Not long after, World Athletics followed suit in 2023, despite not having openly tra**gender women competing at the highest levels. And while the NCAA hadn’t made a final call, there was growing concern as these organizations set the tone.

Then, in May 2024, the NCAA Board of Governors decided to hit pause, choosing to delay policy changes for the time being, citing the need for further review. They reassured that they remained committed to fair competition and promoting women’s sports. Until that point, there was hope for tra**gender athletes. There is growing uncertainty around the future of transgender athletes due to shifting legislative and organizational stances.

So, here’s the latest: one of the first moves from the new House of Representatives is pushing a bill to ban tra**gender athletes from competing in women’s sports. On Friday, they fast-tracked the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which will be rushed to the House floor for a vote. They’ve set it up so that the debate time will be minimal: only one hour for these 12 bills, including this one. Rep. Greg Steube (R., Fla.), who introduced the bill, made it clear that he believes the “radical left” is out of step with the majority of Americans on the issue of women’s sports.

If passed, the bill would change Title IX to define “s**” based on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth, basically making it illegal for male athletes to compete in women’s sports programs. So, it’s still up in the air. However, Alicia Jessop responded to a post by Amanda Christovich about the bill, saying, “There are 510,000 NCAA athletes. Charlie Baker says less than TEN are transgender. It is absolutely wild that Congress can fast track this, yet for over four years it has fumbled the employee status, F-1 visa and other NIL issues impacting schools and over 100k NCAA athletes.” The bill’s fate is still uncertain, but the speed that things are going right now, many tra**gender athletes have already lost hope!

After the NCAA win, Lia Thomas also lost hope

Lia Thomas, who broke records and made history after becoming the first-ever tra**gender athlete to win an NCAA college title in 2022, lost her legal fight with World Aquatics, resulting in a decision barring her from the Paris Olympics, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissing her challenge. The rules that stated that anyone who had gone through male puberty could not participate in the women’s category, Thomas called it “invalid and unlawful.” However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the matter that Thomas had no legal right to challenge the regulations put in place since Lia is not a member of USA Swimming anymore. But this was only one side of the coin, which was the big debate on tra **gender athletes in sports.

Can you recall the San Jose State volleyball incident? This began when people saw that Blaire Fleming, a player for the team, was tra**gender. This became a trend after some universities, such as Wyoming, Boise State, and Southern Utah, as well as Utah State, could willingly withdraw from their intended matches with SJSU without valid explanation, but they chose to forfeit. The matter gained much attention when Brooke Slusser, a teammate, lodged a complaint against both SJSU and the NCAA. She claimed she and the other players were kept in the dark about Fleming’s gender identity until later on.

Slusser pointed out that Fleming’s spikes, which were recorded to be over 80 mph, were so much more powerful than any woman player out there should ever have to deal with. This case raised a larger argument over whether tra**gender women should participate in women’s sporting events and whether current measures such as hormone therapy as a method of putting the players on the same level solve the issue. It has created a lot of discussion about the future of women’s athletics, despite the problem being a mess. But changes are on the way!

Well, as the new rules and regulations come into the sporting arena, it is safe to say that the future of sports is going to get much more interesting, right? Perhaps, after that, there might be new divisions for tran**gender athletes so that everyone can compete on an equal basis. In any case, it will be a significant event for the sport.