Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to bar the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, arguing that it deceives and misleads fans.
The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Lubbock and announced Sunday, alleges the NCAA violates Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting women’s sports that may include a transgender athlete. . The law is designed to protect consumers from being misled or deceived into buying products or services that are not advertised, the lawsuit says.
The Texas lawsuit is the latest attempt by conservative politicians to target transgender athletes and get the NCAA to ban them from competition. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to ban trans athletes from competing.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent the NCAA from allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports in Texas, or sports involving Texas programs. Or it wants the court to require the NCAA to stop marketing events as women’s sports if transgender athletes are allowed.
In a statement, Paxton appeared to refer to the recent controversy surrounding San Jose State women’s volleyball, where several opponents forfeited matches this season based on a transgender player on the Spartans.
A federal court last month refused to bar the school from playing in the Mountain West Conference championship.
“When people watch a women’s volleyball game, for example, they want to see women playing against other women,” Paxton said. expect, not biological men pretending to be something they are not.” “Radical ‘sex ideology’ has no place in college sports.”
The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because he has not publicly commented on his gender identity and declined an interview request by school officials.
Paxton accused the NCAA of “knowingly and knowingly endangering the safety and well-being of women” and turning women’s sports into “co-ed competitions.”
The NCAA does not currently track data on transgender athletes among the 544,000 athletes competing on 19,000 teams at various levels across the country. NCAA President Charlie Baker testified in Congress earlier this month that he is aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who have identified as transgender.
“College sports are the largest stage of women’s sports in the United States, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the association and its members continue to promote Title IX, an unprecedented investment in women’s sports. and will continue to ensure fair competition at all NCAA Championships,” the NCAA said in a statement Monday.
Brooke Slesser, the San Jose State volleyball co-captain who was among the players who sued the Mountain West Conference over her teammate’s participation, praised Texas’ lawsuit on social media.
“Hey NCAA, just in case you haven’t realized yet this fight is going to get harder for you unless you make a change!” Silser posted on X.
The NCAA instituted a policy in 2010 requiring trans athletes who were assigned male at birth to complete at least one year of testosterone suppression therapy before being eligible to compete on the women’s team.
Trans athletes who were assigned female at birth and transitioned to male can compete on the men’s team, but if they have undergone testosterone therapy, they are ineligible to compete on the women’s team. are
Athletes are required to meet their chosen sport’s standards for documented testosterone levels at various points during the season.
In 2022, the NCAA revised its policy in what the organization described as an effort to align with national sports governing bodies. If a governing body does not have a trans athlete policy, the policy of the international federation governing the sport applies. If there is no International Federation policy, the criteria of already established Olympic policy will be followed.