The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which oversees smaller U.S. colleges, announced a policy Monday that essentially bans transgender athletes from women’s sports.
According to CBS Sports, the NAIA Board of Presidents approved the policy 20-0 on Monday. The NAIA, which oversees about 83,000 college athletes across the U.S., is believed to be the first college sports organization to make such a move.
Under the Transgender Participation Policy, all athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored men’s sports. In contrast, only athletes whose biological sex is female and who have not yet started hormone therapy are allowed to participate in women’s sports. A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as practices, practices, and team activities, but not in interscholastic competition.
“With the exception of competitive cheer and competitive dancing, the NAIA has created separate categories for male and female competitors,” the NAIA said. “Every NAIA sport involves a combination of strength, speed and endurance, providing competitive advantages for male student-athletes. As a result, the NAIA policy for transgender student-athletes applies to all sports except competitive cheer and competitive dance, which are open to all students.”
The topic has become a hot topic among conservative groups and others who believe transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete on girls’ and women’s sports teams. Last month, more than a dozen current and former female college athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing America’s college sports’ top governing body of violating their rights by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports .