Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • The full PUMP Act is now in effect. Here’s what it does for lactating parents.

        Chabeli Carrazana · April 28
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: How to ease the ‘loneliness epidemic’ and social isolation among older adults

        Sara Luterman · April 24
      • The 19th Explains: Who will be most impacted by Medicaid changes — and when

        Rebekah Barber · March 28
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Ranked-choice voting is gaining momentum. So are efforts to stop it.

        Barbara Rodriguez · April 24
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

A person prepares to shoot a basketball standing in front of a NCAA logo.
(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ advocates ask NCAA not to cut nondiscrimination protections for athletes

As the NCAA votes on change to its constitution, LGBTQ+ advocates are calling on the organization to keep nondiscrimination language that they say protects queer athletes in a moment where they are particularly vulnerable. 

Kate Sosin

LGBTQ+ reporter

Kate Sosin portrait

Published

2022-01-20 10:00
10:00
January 20, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The clause in question is just five lines long. But for transgender student athletes, it could be the difference between playing or giving up the sports they love, LGBTQ+ advocates say. 

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) membership convenes this week to consider proposed annual changes to its constitution. Among them: the removal of a nondiscrimination statement that would have barred colleges from rejecting athletes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things. 

This “principle of nondiscrimination” was included in the 2021 NCAA constitution: “It is the policy of the Association to refrain from discrimination with respect to its governance policies, educational programs, activities and employment policies, including on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation,” it read in part.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

But changes proposed in November by the NCAA constitution committee would strip those protections. The removal set off red flags for LGBTQ+ advocates who have been battling anti-transgender bills in state legislatures across the nation. 

Ten anti-trans sports bills have been signed into law in the past two years, and hundreds more have been introduced into state legislatures. Advocates for the bills claim they protect cisgender women in sports, while trans rights groups have countered that the bills needlessly exclude transgender girls from play. 

At least 18 LGBTQ+ organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Athlete Ally and Lambda Legal sent the NCAA a letter Thursday asking the organization not to strip the protections. 

A newsletter for the new electorate

Analysis and interviews from Errin Haines, delivered to your inbox every other week.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

“The political climate that we have seen develop in certain state legislatures gives us little hope that non-discrimination and fair treatment are principles that will be consistently upheld by state laws, or that state policies are even trending in the right direction,” the letter reads. 

The NCAA has historically been a powerful voice in support of transgender issues, the letter argues. After North Carolina passed an anti-trans bathroom bill in 2017, the NCAA Board of Governors announced it would move its seven 2016-17 championship events from the state to prevent athletes from facing a discriminatory atmosphere. 

Still, LGBTQ+ advocates have asked the NCAA to go further by boycotting states with new anti-trans sports bans on the books. The NCAA has that they are reevaluating their own participating policies. But advocates say that selecting states that encourage discrimination puts those athletes in danger. 

On Wednesday, ahead of the letter being sent, the NCAA announced a new policy on eligibility requirements for trans athletes. Each sport’s governing body will now determine its own requirements. Previously, the policy was based on hormone therapy requirements and applied to the entire NCAA.

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

Players on the field at the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

Sports

Women’s basketball is finally getting equal treatment in NCAA Final Four branding

The social media updates follow a 2021 gender equity review of the NCAA that called for the organization to make all promotional efforts for the men and women’s competitions the same.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram