NCAA adopts new regulations supporting transgender athletes By Jordan Conestabile
The NCAA has adopted a new policy aligning their guidelines for transgender athletes line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committee.
The policy promotes a sport-by-sport determination of transgender participation. These determinations will be based on the criteria and policy established by the individual sport’s national governing body and by recommendation of an NCAA Committee to their Board of Governors. If no national governing body policy exists for a specific sport, then criteria utilized by the sport’s international federation will be adopted.
John DeGioia, chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, believes “it is important that NCAA member schools, conferences and college athletes compete in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment and can move forward with a clear understanding of the new policy.”
“Approximately 80% of U.S. Olympians are either current or former college athletes,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “This policy alignment provides consistency and further strengthens the relationship between college sports and the U.S. Olympics.”
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With the adoption of the new policy, transgender athletes will be subject to mandatory testosterone testing at the beginning of the academic year, at the beginning of their sport season, and again six months later.
The NCAA has set the requirement for athletes to be tested four weeks prior to participation in championship competition. Previous international policies required transgender athletes to maintain testosterone levels below a certain level for a 12 month period prior to being eligible to compete in their individual sport.
This policy change has generated public debate. In reference to swimmer Lia Thomas, Swimming World magazine editor-in-chief John Lohn wrote “The effects of being born a biological male, as they relate to the sport of swimming, offer Thomas a clear-cut edge over biological females against who she is competing.”
Iconic U.S. Olympian Michael Phelps described the situation as “very complicated.” Without taking a direct position, Phelps contended that “we should all feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin, but I think sports should be played on an even playing field.”
Thomas is a transgender student at Penn University who swam for the men’s team during the 2018-19 season. Thomas began the transition process in 2019, completed a year of hormone therapy, and met the requirements set by the NCAA to be able to compete as a member of the women’s squad.
Thomas said the experience “caused a lot of distress in me.” Thomas struggled with mental health. "There was a lot of unease,” Thomas explained, “basically just feeling trapped in my body. It didn’t align.”
Jordan Conestabile is a Political Science student at Utica College
