Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues The NCAA Over Transgender Athletes Alleging ‘Unsafe Conditions’ For Women Athletes

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing the college athletic association of “misleading” fans by allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sporting events.

The lawsuit claims, “Texas consumers are legally entitled to spend their hard-earned dollars on the competitions that matter to them, without being misled. This Court should enjoin the NCAA from its misleading and unlawful conduct to protect Texas consumers from the NCAA’s false, deceptive, and misleading practices.”

The NCAA abides by the definition of a woman as a person who identifies as such, regardless of the gender assigned at birth. This year, the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team was boycotted by a list of opponents due to their inclusion of a transgender player; last month a federal court rejected a request to block the player from the games. Per NCAA policy since 2010, female transgender athletes are required to have completed a minimum of one year of testosterone suppression treatment before they are eligible to compete.

At the news release of the announcement of the suit on Sunday, Paxton asserted, “The NCAA is intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women by deceptively changing women’s competitions into co-ed competitions…When people watch a women’s volleyball game, for example, they expect to see women playing against other women – not biological males pretending to be something they are not. Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports.”

On Monday, the NCAA refused to comment on the lawsuit but emphasized its dedication to enforcing Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination by sex in education and other programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX recognizes and forbids discrimination based on sex against transgender individuals.

Michelle Brutlag Hosick, the communications director for the NCAA, said in a statement, “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.”

The NCAA in the past refused to answer how many of its players are transgender, but its president Charlie Baker revealed last week at a congressional hearing that out of more than 500,000 NCAA players, there are less than 10 transgender athletes.

President-elect Donald Trump has said that he plans on getting “transgender insanity the hell out of our schools,” including restricting athletes to teams base on gender assignment at birth. 

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