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Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) decimated the former Republican governor of Massachusetts and current NCAA President Charlie Baker during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on sports gambling. Several GOP lawmakers took the opportunity to address the inclusion of transgender athletes in female sports. 

“A transgender woman is a biological male,” Kennedy stated. “And a biological male is always going to have a physical . . . advantage competing in a collegiate sport against a biological female. Isn’t that true?” 

Baker agreed with Kennedy that transgender women are biological males and have an advantage “every time competing with a biological female.” Over 600 female athletes have lost over 800 medals to transgender females, while almost no biological male athlete has lost to a transgender male.

Kennedy asks Baker why they have not done more to allow fairness in women’s sports by banning transgender females from women’s sports. “…your job is to promote fairness in collegiate sports, why do you support allowing transgender women, who are biological males, to compete against non-transgender biological females?” Senator Kennedy asked.

In response, the NCAA president said his organization has not acted due to a lack of legal clarity on the issue. “Over the course of the past two years, five federal court cases involving this question… five federal judges have all sided with participation as the standard,” Baker stated.

“So you’re saying you don’t have a choice?” Kennedy asked.

“I’m saying that under the current dynamic, there is no clarity on this issue legally,” Baker responded.

However, in the past two years, no federal judge has ruled in favor of the inclusion of transgender “female” athletes in women’s sports. 

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who later grilled the NCAA president, also confirmed that “No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological men in women’s sports.” 

However, Baker insisted that the District Court ruled in favor of inclusion in the San Jose State case. In reality, the court denied the motion to suspend the Mountain West Conference’s inclusion policy at the start of the MWC volleyball tournament, which was due in two weeks.

The judge stated that the request “was not reasonable” and risked “confusion and upend months of planning and would prejudice… teams participating in the tournament.”

Therefore, the inclusion of biological males in women’s sports is the NCAA’s policy, and the organization can change it at will.  In fact, the smaller athletics association, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), has banned biological males from competing against girls. 

Subsequently, Kennedy could not understand why Baker and the NCAA had not taken a stand on the issue despite seemingly having the power to change the inclusion policy.

“Why don’t you take a position on transgender biological males competing against females? You just told me it wasn’t fair,” Senator Kennedy persisted.

Baker responded by saying that his organization was a national governing body and thus subject to federal laws. However, no federal law requires women’s sports to accept biological males. 

Kennedy followed up by asking the NCAA president why he was not interested in changing the federal rules of inclusion, if they exist, to allow fairness in women’s sports. As a national governing body, the NCAA should take the lead in advising the federal government on how to improve fairness in sports. 

“That’s what you’re there for,” Kennedy stated. 

“Why don’t you stand up and say… ‘Federal law is wrong, and the NCAA believes in fair competition. We also believe in equality. … In America, you can be whatever you want to be… But our job is to promote fairness in sports. Biological males are not going to be allowed to compete against biological females.’”

Seemingly appalled by the NCAA president’s lack of leadership in improving the competitiveness of female collegiate sports, Kennedy fired the last shot.

“Why don’t you go onto Amazon and buy a spine online and take a stand?” 

Senator Hawley also decimated Baker over the NCAA’s policy allowing transgender females who are biological males to share locker rooms with biological women. 

The NCAA policy states that “transgender student athletes should be able to use the locker room, shower, and toilet facilities in accordance with their gender identity.” 

This time, Baker shifted the blame to the local tournament organizers, who he claims should create locker room to accommodate all players. 

Frustrated, Sen. Hawley called out Backer and the NCAA for failing to take responsibility while shifting the blame to everybody else.

Meanwhile, The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) has accused Baker of misleading the hearing committee and prioritizing profits and ideology in women’s sports instead of protecting female athletes. ICONS is involved in two lawsuits against the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference.

“The NCAA and President Charlie Baker are failing women while misleading the U.S. Senate and the American public,” said ICONS Co-founder Kim Jones.

“Yesterday, Baker repeatedly lied to the Senate, as the NCAA continues sacrificing fair competition and safety in women’s college sports for profit and ideology.”

“His false testimony confirms what his inaction has made clear for the past two years: the NCAA prioritizes revenue and power over truth, fairness, and the protection of female athletes.”