NAIA unanimously adopts policy limiting options for transgender athletes
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has unanimously approved a new policy that would limit which transgender athletes can compete in women’s sports.
The policy was approved by the NAIA’s Council of Presidents 20-0 at its annual convention Monday in Missouri.
The Associated Press reported that under the new policy, all athletes can compete in male sports. However, only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports. A student who has started such therapy can work out and practice with a team, but not compete. The policy goes into effect in August.
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In an interview with the AP on Monday, NAIA President Jim Carr said that he expected the policy would “generate controversy” but deemed it best for “competitive reasons.”
“We know there are a lot of opinions, and a lot of people have a very emotional reaction to this, and we want to be respectful of all that,” Carr told the AP. “But we feel like our primary responsibility is fairness in competition, so we are following that path. And we’ve tried as best we could to allow for some participation by all.”
The NAIA is the governing body that represents 241 colleges across the country, mostly small schools. There are 10 NAIA schools in Michigan, including Aquinas College and Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.
The National Women’s Law Center has rebuked the new policy, calling it “blatant discrimination that not only harms trans, nonbinary and intersex individuals, but limits the potential of all athletes.”
On the other side of the argument, more than a dozen current and former college athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA last month, accusing the organization of violating their rights by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
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According to the AP, about 190 of the NAIA’s 241 schools are private institutions and more than 120 of them have religious affiliations. Of the 20 presidents who voted for the policy, 17 come from schools affiliated with Christian churches.
“People have certain views of the world, and even though I believe all our Council of Presidents members are trying to think what’s best for the NAIA, they certainly come to these kinds of issues with their own beliefs and the missions of their institutions in mind,” Carr said. “I would think that had some impact.”
News 8 reached out to the athletic departments at both Aquinas and Cornerstone to seek comment on the new policies. As of Tuesday afternoon, neither school had provided an official statement.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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