NAIA logo on Saint Xavier’s Bob Hallberg court in the Shannon Center Javell Sheppard
On April 8, 2024, The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) approved a Transgender Participation Policy by a 20-0 vote that substantially bans transgender women from athletic competitions. The policy goes into effect on August 1 of this year.
The unanimous vote by their Council of Presidents (COP) is believed to result in the first college athletic association to enact such a policy.
In an interview with The Associated Press (AP), NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr said they understand there will be an emotional reaction to the decision, but believe it is best for fairness in athletic competition.
“…we feel like our primary responsibility is fairness in competition, so we are following that path,” Carr said in defense of the policy.
Despite the unanimous vote, the policy may be in violation of Title IX.
Title IX, a federal law first passed in 1972, states : “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
The new policy of transgender participation in NAIA competitions allows for anyone to participate in men’s athletics, with stipulations as to who can participate in women’s athletics.
Section A of the policy states “all eligible NAIA student-athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports,” regardless of their “designated” sex.
Section B reads, “only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex* is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports,” with conditions to participation.
The first condition to Section B says a student who has not started a “masculinizing hormone” can participate in women’s athletics without limitation.
Condition 2(a) explains that a student who has begun masculinizing hormones may participate in “internal” activities such as practices and workouts, but not external activities (competitions against other schools).
2b goes on to say there are some external competitions these student-athletes may participate in, and can be found in NAIA’s NAC Policy Article XXV, Section A, Item 12.
The language used in Section B may be difficult to understand. Restricting transgender women from some athletic participation would impact an individual taking a feminizing hormone (estrogen), not one taking a masculinizing hormone (testosterone).
It is also important to note not all people who identify as a woman have the opportunity or resources to take a feminizing hormone, which would make their testosterone levels higher than that of a cisgender woman.
Following the NAIA’s release of the policy, Bethany College, a private Christian institution in Lindsborg, KS., told its students they would not be enforcing the policy.
The email, obtained by KWCH 12, says: “The policy hinges on self-reporting by individual students and institutions. At Bethany, we will not be requiring our student-athletes to prove their biological sex.”
KWCH’s article also said Bethany “believes the dignity and privacy of transgender athletes should be respected.”
The number of transgender athletes in the NAIA is actually unknown.
The AP article mentions less than 2% of athletes in high schools in the United States are transgender and although the number of transgender athletes in the NAIA is unknown, the number “would be far smaller.”
Saint Xavier University, one of the over 240 NAIA schools, has not released a statement regarding the policy.