Why Did NCAA Join the Political Circus?

             The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the number of corporations and organizations that are joining radical politics. More than 100 corporations are claiming that the new voter integrity is racist. Now the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) jumped into politics. The organization is threatening to withhold championships from states that do not permit biological men to play on women’s teams.

            This is not the first time that the NCAA meddled in politics. In 2016, it got involved in the privacy bill in North Carolina. The NCAA issued the following statement on April 12, 2021. 

The NCAA Board of Governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports. This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition.

The NCAA has a long-standing policy that provides a more inclusive path for transgender participation in college sports. Our approach – which requires testosterone suppression treatment for transgender women to compete in women’s sports – embraces the evolving science on this issue and is anchored in participation policies of both the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport. One clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.

When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination should be selected. We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants.

            The NCAA supports transgender athletes, but the states shows that the organization does not support girl’s and women’s sports. Their statement shouts loudly that they do not pay attention to science or have common sense or even care about level playing fields. They obviously are not interested in equity for females.

            The NCAA statement said that the organization would be “monitoring” states that make a stand against biological males who want to play on female teams. The states do not seem to be afraid of the NCAA. According to Tony Perkins, most legislatures are not moved by the threats. 

… Whatever power the NCAA thinks it holds over these elected officials has been dramatically diminished the more entitled and radical the left’s policy demands become.

To ordinary Americans, it’s illogical to force girls to compete against biological men. Once you step outside of the Washington, D.C. bubble and talk to people in both parties, they’ll agree. As polling across the spectrum shows, it’s one of the strongest areas of bipartisan consensus in the nation.

Some surveys, like Scott Rasmussen’s Just the News Daily Poll, show Democrats agreeing with Republicans by a 50%-25% margin. On the right, it’s no contest, almost everyone (81%) wants their daughters to be able to compete on a level playing field for titles, scholarships, and opportunities.

Even more liberal outlets, like Politico in its Morning Consult poll, pointed out that this is a culture debate that isn’t really a debate.

Across gender, party, and generational lines, protecting women’s rights makes sense in most people’s minds, “so let’s dispense with the notion that transgenderism as pushed by corporate media, Big Tech, Hollywood, and corporate America is somehow ‘mainstream,’” The Federalist’s John Daniel Davidson insisted. “It’s not even close to mainstream.”

            Perkins had a few quotes to show what conservative politicians think about the NCAA threat. If these views are common among politicians, we will see most states pass legislation to protect sports for girls and women. One powerful statement against the NCAA intimidation was made by Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida).

The NCAA likes to threaten Florida and other states. Well, here’s a threat to the NCAA…. The American people are not going to allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. It’s not going to happen. If you keep threatening the public with your woke elitist psychobabble, the NCAA will not last much longer. Florida cannot be replaced, but you can be replaced.

            Perkins shared similar statements from other politicians, particularly ones in states that are pushing legislation to protect girls. Texas State Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring) indicated that no one will “fall for the intimidation tactics” of NCAA. She said that transgender males are welcome to compete in Texas sports, but they are not welcome in girls’ sports.

Florida State Rep. Chris Latvala (R-Clearwater) pointed out that the NCAA does not treat its athletes with “dignity and respect.” “The women’s basketball tourney had subpar facilities and COVID testing and volleyball tournaments [weren’t] even going to have announcers for the first two rounds.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) pointed out the hypocrisy of sports leagues and CEO who are boycotting Georgia for making elections more secure but operating in China without any complaints. “The MLB, the PGA, the NFL, the NBA, all of your sporting leagues should do what they’re there to do: play ball…. The activism like this is just astounding…. It’s not good corporate governance.”

Kansas State Senator Ty Masterson (R-Andover) did not pull any punches with his reply: “Republicans in the Kansas Senate will not cower in the face of such intimidation and inflammatory rhetoric. We will not back down in defense of fairness in women’s sports. We will not sell out decades of progress by women for a few days of a basketball tournament.”

            All Americans should agree that women and girls have made much progress for equal rights since Title IX was passed. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The law prohibits all discrimination based on sex in any school or other education program that receives money from the federal government. Title IX was passed to bring a level playing field to girls and women. It is totally unfair to insist that females give up their rights and allow transgender males to dominate female sports teams and championships.