NCAA selects three states with transgender athlete bans as regional hosts for softball tournament
Three states with legislation banning transgender athletes from interscholastic competition were named Sunday by the NCAA as hosts for the upcoming postseason softball tournament, angering advocacy groups and rebutting statements made last month by an influential NCAA governance body that suggested the future hosting of postseason events may be impacted by such legislation.
SEC schools within the three states — Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — will serve as regional hosts for the 64-team tournament, which begins Friday and is scheduled to conclude in early June at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The announcement comes at a time when the participation of transgender athletes has become the latest front in the ongoing political debate over inclusivity and discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, which has unfolded along highly partisan lines.
“Selecting championship sites in states with discriminatory policies directly contradicts the NCAA’s stated commitment to providing environments that are safe, healthy, and free of discrimination,” said race walker and triathlete Chris Mosier, who in 2020 became the first known transgender athlete to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the gender they identify.
“The NCAA’s lack of action in remaining silent as these bills were being discussed was a passive offense to transgender student-athletes, but this is an actual attack — the NCAA is saying, clearly, ‘We do not care about our transgender student-athletes.'”
Last month, the NCAA Board of Governors, which is comprised of university presidents and chancellors across all levels of college athletics, issued a statement saying it “firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports.”
The statement implied that decisions on hosting for major postseason events such as the World Series would be impacted by legislation limiting participation for transgender athletes, which has been signed into law in five states and introduced in dozens more.
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“When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected,” the Board of Governors said.
“We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants.”