NCAA tentatively responds to transgender athlete bans

The NCAA on Monday released a statement in response to the mounting number of bills in state legislatures aimed at barring transgender athletes — mainly women and girls — from competing in sports divisions that match their gender identity, saying that it was “committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.”

But the organization, which has been under pressure from LGBTQ-rights advocates, major league leaders and its own athletes, stopped short of saying that it would pull championships from states considering such legislation. The NCAA, presided over by Mark Emmert, took such action in 2016 after North Carolina passed a law that restricted restroom access for transgender individuals.

“The Board of Governors continues to monitor the situation and has not made final decisions about the future of championships,” Michelle Hosick, a spokesperson for the NCAA, wrote in an email to the New York Times on Monday. Opponents to those bills are wondering why.

“We are grateful to President Emmert and the NCAA for past and present leadership to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in sports; their voice in this space has been important in stopping hateful legislation from taking effect and, in some cases, has helped to reverse discriminatory laws on the books,” Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told reporters Friday. “At this time, though, we are asking the NCAA to do more and to use the power of their visibility to reaffirm and support transgender and nonbinary athletes across the nation.”

The Human Rights Campaign is one of several groups that have sent letters to the NCAA calling for a tougher response to bills that have emerged in at least 30 states this session. One letter was signed by more than 700 collegiate athletes.