The NAIA bans trans athletes from competing in women’s sports

The GIST: On Monday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) — an NCAA–like governing body overseeing sports at 241 small four-year colleges — unanimously voted to ban transgender athletes from nearly all women’s sports starting this August. Beyond disappointing.

The details: Under the NAIA’s current policy, trans women and nonbinary athletes can compete in regular-season events, while postseason contests have hormone therapy restrictions. However, the expanded policy excludes trans women (and trans men in hormone therapy) from all intercollegiate women’s competition due to “competitive fairness.” Men’s sports remain unrestricted.

• Out of the NAIA’s 83K student-athletes, only a handful are trans competitors (about 40 of the NCAA’s 500K athletes are trans). That’s an absurdly small number to justify a policy rooted in transphobia and misinformation.

• It’s also worth noting that while approximately 125 NAIA schools are religiously affiliated, 17 of the 20 Council of Presidents members who passed this policy are leaders at religious institutions.

The NCAA: The NCAA defers to each sport’s national or international policy on trans athletes, but generally, trans folks can participate in accordance with their gender identity (with hormone therapy and testing standards for trans women). But a patchwork of state trans bans and impending lawsuits claiming Title IX violations could force the NCAA to follow the NAIA’s lead.

Zooming out: Rampant misinformation has fueled these bans, often by framing policies as protective of women’s sports. But the lack of protections against invasive inspections puts all female athletes, trans and cis, at risk. As former NCAA athlete, trans activist, and friend of The GIST Schuyler Bailar said, “It’s not just about the anti-trans sports bills…these actually impact everybody.”

• Still unsure where you stand on this issue? Check out our full interview with Bailar to bust the myths and understand why, at The GIST, trans athletes will always be protected and celebrated.