Josh Hawley confronts NCAA president over trans sports participation

What’s new

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley got into a heated exchange with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker over transgender athletes during a hearing in Washington on Tuesday about the impact of legalized sports gambling.

Why it matters

Transgender rights have become a lightning rod for Republicans in recent months, as Republican lawmakers step up efforts to ban transgender athletes from participating in some sports and from accessing restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

When it was Hawley’s turn to question Baker on Tuesday, he questioned the NCAA president about whether “biological males” should be allowed to play in women’s sports.

“Did you say that federal law requires the NCAA to allow biological men to participate in women’s sports?” Hawley asked.

“No, I said there were five cases in federal court in the last 18 months” and “in all five cases, federal judges were on the side of involvement,” Baker said.

“You specifically allow biological men in women’s sports, but you told him that’s based on federal law,” Hawley said, referring to Baker’s response to a question from Republican Sen. John Kennedy on the subject. “There’s no federal law that requires this, right? The relevant federal law is Title IX, right?”

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law that protects students from sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

“Guidance on this Title IX issue or guidance on discrimination law would be…” Baker began before Hawley interrupted him.

“Title IX is already law,” the Missouri senator said. “Title IX says –”

“Federal judges have ruled on this…,” Baker said. He burst out laughing when Hawley interrupted him again.

“Let’s just forego this disappointment,” the Republican senator said. “No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological males in women’s sports, has it? There’s not a single case where the NCAA was directed to do this, right?”

“That’s broadly what they decided to do,” Baker said.

“No,” Hawley shot back. “Don’t say much. That’s – we’re talking about the law here.”

What you should know

This isn’t the first time Hawley and Baker have clashed over transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.

The Missouri senator sent Baker a letter last year asking him to clarify the NCAA’s policy on transgender athletes’ access to locker rooms.

Baker sent Hawley a six-page letter in response, saying each championship venue would have lockers, restrooms and locker areas “specific to the sport and available separately for men and women.” Specific to the division’s swimming and diving championships, gender-neutral options are also available for all participants.”

“Host organizations are expected to provide multiple components to support the administration of the championships,” Baker wrote. “In addition, a host institution’s local and/or campus regulations must be adhered to and may impact the administration of championships.”

He added that when it comes to locker rooms, the NCAA and its venues “comply with applicable local, state and federal laws regarding access to facilities.”

The NCAA also received criticism related to the gender identity of a player on the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team. Neither the player nor SJSU have publicly commented on the player’s gender.

But in September, SJSU volleyball player Brooke Slusser joined more than a dozen female athletes in filing a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming the organization violated the Title IX rights of cisgender female athletes by allowing transgender women have to compete against them.

Shortly after Donald Trump’s election victory was announced, Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts said The New York Times: “Democrats spend far too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.”

“I have two little girls,” he added. “I don’t want them to be run over on the field by a male or former male athlete, but as a Democrat I should be afraid to say that.”

Following these comments, Moulton faced protests in Salem, Massachusetts.

What people say

Republican lawmakers urge the Mountain West Conference to ban transgender athletes from playing sports consistent with their gender identity in a letter: “It is unfair to allow biological men to participate in women’s sports. It’s an injustice. Under these guidelines, it is only fair that biological men play men’s sports and biological women play women’s sports.”

Jen Psaki, former White House press secretary under President Joe Biden: “Look, if this were actually a problem in thousands of schools across the country, then it would be worth a debate. But there are simply incredibly few examples of transgender girls playing in youth sports. And when we see these examples, there are none.” “There is no evidence that these children pose a threat to safety or justice.”

What comes next

There are no signs that Republicans will let up on their opposition to the transgender community any time soon. If anything, they’ll probably double it.

Republicans won the 2024 US election at the national and state levels after months of harassing Democrats with misleading attacks on the trans community.

The fight came to the halls of Congress shortly after the election, when South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution banning transgender people from using the restroom that matches their gender identity. Mace’s decision followed the election of Delaware’s first transgender representative, Sarah McBride, to the U.S. House of Representatives.

There is no evidence that transgender women pose an increased threat to restroom safety. According to a study published in 2021, transgender people are also many times more likely to be victims of violent crime than non-transgender people American Public Health Journal.

McBride commented on Mace’s suggestion at the time