Officials overseeing Georgia’s 26 public universities voted Tuesday to ask the NCAA and National College Athletic Association to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports.
The state Board of Regents’ vote was unanimous and was boosted by Georgia’s Republican Lt. Gov. Bert Jones’ promise to pass legislation that would ban transgender women from competing in athletics at public universities.
Jones, a leading candidate for governor in 2026, said in a statement that she praised the regents for protecting “the hard work that female athletes put into competing.”
Officials expect the NCAA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association to follow the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which largely banned transgender women from participating in sports in April.
Under the NAIA’s new policy, only athletes who were assigned female at birth and are not receiving hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports. All athletes are still allowed to participate in NAIA-sponsored men’s sports.
Of the 25 schools with sports programs under Regents, four are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association, five are members of the NAIA, and the remaining 16 are affiliated with the NCAA. This includes NCAA college football powerhouses Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
The NCAA began following national and international standards for each sport in August. Previously, he had complied with a 2010 policy of mandating a year of testosterone suppression treatment and submitting documented testosterone levels before championship events.
Chris McGraw, executive director and chief counsel for the board, said that while the junior college federations have allowed transgender students to participate in women’s athletics in some cases, there is little consistency between the three associations. He said there was no sex.
Critics were quick to slam the Peach State’s move.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Bert Jones unanimously passed the bill after Georgia’s public university regents asked the NCAA to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports. Getty Images
Jeff Graham of Georgia Equality, an LGBTQ rights group, said the higher education system “recognizes the importance of diversity at many levels and is sensitive to the educational experience of all students, regardless of gender or gender identity.” It should be done.” .
Transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports will be in Georgia in 2022, as lawmakers debate and ultimately pass legislation allowing the Georgia High School Association to regulate transgender women’s participation in sports. It became a hot topic at the state general assembly.
With this new regulatory power, the association immediately banned transgender women from participating in sponsored sporting events.
The 2022 law was enacted after senators criticized Georgia Tech for allowing transgender athletes from other schools to compete in the NCAA swimming championships held on Georgia Tech grounds that year.
AP
Start and end your day with our newsletter
Morning report and evening update: Your source for today’s top stories
Thank you for registering!
