The University System of Georgia Board of Regents, the state's governing body for public universities and colleges, is asking two prominent collegiate athletic federations to enact bans on transgender women seeking participation in women's sports.
Earlier this week, the regents voted unanimously to send a request to the NCAA and the National College Athletic Association. The board is asking these two federations to follow the policies of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
In April, the NAIA passed a resolution that would largely ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports at 241, mostly small academic institutions.
In 2022, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) voted in favor of requiring students to compete in high school sports based on their sex at birth.
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The board of governors that oversees Georgia's public universities has submitted a request to the NCAA and the National College Athletic Association to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports. (Fox News)
Of the 25 schools with athletic programs managed by Regents, four are members of the National 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 men's sports sponsored by the NAIA. However, only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not started hormone therapy can participate in women's sports.
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Georgia was at the center of controversy two years ago at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech.
Leah Thomas, 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 switched to the women's team when she transitioned to the women's team due to hormone replacement therapy.
After finishing fifth in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at the McCauley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta on March 18, 2022. Leah Thomas watches from the podium. (Mike Comer/NCAA Photo via Getty Images)
Several former college women's swimmers who participated in these competitions, including Riley Gaines, testified before a Georgia Senate committee in August. These players claimed they were put at a disadvantage when playing against Thomas.
Former college swimmers also spoke about their personal experiences sharing a locker room with Thomas.
The NCAA logo outside NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis on February 28, 2023. (Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images)
Part of the resolution adopted by the board on Tuesday states, “If a student-athlete who is biologically male or who is receiving masculinizing hormone therapy competes in women's athletic competition, a student-athlete who is biologically female Athletes may be placed at a competitive disadvantage.”
The Georgia General Assembly previously considered a bill that would restrict transgender athletes from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. The bill would have required athletes to participate on school sports teams that match their sex at birth.
Georgia lawmakers stopped short of an outright ban, leaving the decision to the GHSA Executive Committee. The commission ultimately moved forward with the ban two years ago.
View of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta (Universal Images Group, via Getty Images)
Democratic lawmakers in Georgia, along with transgender students and their parents, argued that the ban on transgender girls would be another form of discrimination against young people already exposed to prejudice. The organization also cited suicide rates among transgender teens.
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But Lt. Gov. Bert Jones, who oversees the Georgia Senate, wants to revisit the issue of transgender women's participation in sports. Jones has vowed to introduce a bill in next year's legislative session that would effectively ban transgender women from participating in sports at the state's public universities.
“I want to thank the Board of Governors for taking action on the issues that I have highlighted as priorities. In Georgia, the Senate has led the way in protecting women's sports,” Jones said Tuesday. “The work that female athletes put into their sport, regardless of their age, should be protected at all costs. This action brings us one step closer to achieving that ultimate goal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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