NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NCAA president Charlie Baker said Tuesday the association would welcome federal guidance before it considers any possible changes to rules regarding transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“There is no clarity on this from a legal point of view,” Baker told reporters shortly after giving his State of College Sports address to membership at the association’s annual convention.
Baylor president Linda Livingstone, the chairwoman of the NCAA’s board of governors, mentioned the board had discussed the policy on transgender student-athlete participation this year during her opening remarks introducing Baker. She said the NCAA was monitoring potential changes to Title IX and related legal cases.
The brief mention of the policy during a high-profile event, in front of a room filled with hundreds of representatives from across the NCAA’s three divisions and 1,100 schools, was notable. Conservative politicians aggressively hit on the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports during the last election cycle after numerous states passed laws banning transgender athletes from girls sports at the high school and youth levels.
Some lawmakers have criticized the NCAA’s rules, which provide an opportunity for transgender athletes to…
