U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, joined by 22 Republican colleagues Tuesday, sent a letter urging NCAA President Charlie Baker to update their student-athlete policy to ensure only biologically female students can participate in women’s sports.
“Amid the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented assault on Title IX, we urge the NCAA to update its student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports,” the letter states. “The NCAA has taken no steps to protect these athletes despite boasting about their participation in the 2024 Summer Olympics.”
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“The science is clear: males have inherent athletic advantages over females due to their anatomy and biology,” the senators wrote. “To allow biological men to compete in women’s sports while considering testosterone a performance enhancer is intellectually dishonest. These facts cannot continue to be ignored by the NCAA.”
“In April, the NAIA prohibited the participation of males in women’s sports. Similarly, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Lia Thomas lacked standing to challenge World Aquatic’s policy barring Thomas from competing in the women’s category for the Olympics,” the letter continues. “Women deserve an even playing field, one that can only be achieved by ensuring that only females compete in women’s sports.”
Riley Gaines, Concerned Women for America, Heritage Action, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, Independent Women’s Forum, Independent Women’s Law Center, Champion Women, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition have endorsed this letter.
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“In conjunction with the Biden-Harris administration, the NCAA has turned its back on women by disregarding Title IX,” said Riley Gaines, 12x NCAA All-American swimmer. “It’s unfair, unsafe, and discriminatory.”
“Men and women are different. Period,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America. “Title IX was implemented to give women the same opportunities in sports as men. Those opportunities are being ripped away.”
“The NCAA continues to erase female athletes while touting its programs meant to encourage their achievements,” said Carrie Lukas, President of Independent Women’s Forum and May Mailman, Director of Independent Women’s Law Center. “More than 7,000 NCAA athletes and numerous organizations have urged the NCAA to repeal its discriminatory policy.”
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The letter was co-signed by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
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