Show-Me State Times

Today, during a Senate Judiciary Hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley addressed Charlie Baker, President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), regarding the organization's policies on transgender athletes. Senator Hawley expressed concerns about what he termed as "pro-transgender, anti-woman policies."

Senator Hawley stated, "No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological men in women’s sports. There is not a single case that has ordered the NCAA to do so." He referred to Title IX, saying it explicitly states that "no person in the United States shall on the basis of sex be denied the benefits of any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Hawley further criticized the NCAA's handbook policy: "[Your handbook] says that ‘transgender student athletes will be able to use the locker room, shower, and toilet in accordance with their gender identity’ […] that means that if a man, a biological man, wants to use their locker room, they just have to accept it or else the women have to go somewhere else; they have to find an alternative. Why is that fair?"

The senator also challenged Baker's stance on Title IX compliance: “Your testimony here today is that you’re not even subject to Title IX. Mr. Baker, I cannot even tell you how disappointed this makes me […] You won’t even take responsibility, it is outrageous.”

Senator Hawley has been vocal about his advocacy for women's rights in sports and previously demanded an apology from Baker for requiring women athletes to share locker rooms with transgender individuals.