University System of Georgia Board of Regents, the state's governing body Public universities and collegesTwo leading university federations are calling for a ban on transgender women who want to play women's sports.
Earlier this week, the regents voted unanimously to send the request to the NCAA and the National Junior College Athletic Association. The board asks the two federations to follow the rules of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
In April, the NAIA voted to ban transgender athletes from women's competitions at all 241 mostly small academic institutions.
In 2022, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) voted to allow students to participate in high school sports based on their gender at birth.
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The Board of Governors of Georgia's public universities and colleges has asked the NCAA and the National Junior College Athletic Association to ban transgender women from participating in women's sports. (Fox News)
Of the 25 Regents-led schools with athletic programs, four are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association, five are members of the NAIA and the remaining 16 are members of the NCAA. The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech are members of the NCAA.
All athletes are eligible to participate in NAIA-sponsored men's sports. However, only athletes whose biological sex at birth was female and who have not started hormone therapy can participate in women's sports.
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Georgia State was at the center of controversy two years ago during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Georgia Tech.
Leah Thomas, who was then a member of the University of Pennsylvania swim team, won the women's 500-meter freestyle. Thomas previously competed on the men's team, but later switched to the women's team when she switched to the women's team as a result of hormone replacement therapy.
Leah Thomas looks on from the podium after finishing fifth in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022, at the Macauley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. (Photo by Mike Comer/NCAA via Getty Images)
including several former collegiate swimmers from Riley Gaines. People who participated in these events testified before a Georgia Senate committee in August. These athletes argued that they were at a disadvantage by competing against Thomas.
Former college swimmers also spoke about their personal experiences sharing a locker room with Thomas.
The NCAA logo outside the NCAA headquarters on Feb. 28, 2023 in Indianapolis. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“Biologically female student-athletes may be placed at a competitive disadvantage when student-athletes who are biologically male or who are subjected to masculinizing hormone therapy compete in women's athletic events,” reads part of the resolution adopted Tuesday by the Board of Regents.
The Georgia General Assembly has previously considered a bill that would prohibit transgender athletes from being on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The law required athletes to participate on school sports teams consistent with their gender at birth.
Georgia lawmakers stopped the ban altogether and left the decision to the GHSA executive committee. The commission finally decided to introduce the ban two years ago.
View of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta (Universal Image Group via Getty Images)
Democratic lawmakers in Georgia, along with transgender students and their parents, said a ban on transgender girls would be another form of discrimination against young people they say already face prejudice. The group also noted suicide rates among transgender teens.
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But Georgia Gov. Bart Jones, who oversees the state Senate, wants to reconsider transgender women's participation in sports. Jones has vowed to introduce a bill during next year's legislative session that would effectively ban transgender women from competing in sports at any public university in the state.
“I want to thank the Board of Regents for taking action to protect women's sports – something I have highlighted as a priority, and in Georgia, the Senate has led the way,” Jones said Tuesday. “The work performed by competing female athletes should be protected at all costs, regardless of age. This step brings us one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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