Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., received criticism on social media Tuesday for a post he made about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Durbin was among lawmakers who questioned NCAA President Charlie Baker at the Capitol. Durbin asked Baker how many athletes there were in the collegiate organization and how many of those athletes were transgender.
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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks on student loans Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Baker said there were about 510,000 NCAA athletes and 10 or fewer of them were transgender.
“Let’s focus on ways to really improve women’s sports,” Durbin wrote in X.
The senator faced negative reactions for the publication in X.
Baker faced questions from Sens. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., about trans participation in women’s sports and accommodations for those athletes.
Hawley and Baker discussed NCAA policies that have allowed trans athletes to compete on women’s teams. Hawley confronted Baker about the NCAA policy that states “transgender student-athletes must be able to use locker rooms, showers and restrooms consistent with their gender identity.”
NCAA PREZ SUGGESTS FEMALE ATHLETES TO USE OTHER FACILITIES IF THEY ARE UNCOMFORTABLE SHARING WITH TRANS PLAYERS
Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Baker responded by insisting that other athletes have the option to find other accommodations if they don’t feel comfortable with it.
“Everyone else should have the opportunity to use other facilities if they wish,” Baker said.
Baker added that the NCAA guidelines give institutions and organizations that host college sporting events, which he referred to as “locals,” the option to accommodate athletes as they see fit.
“I think our guidelines give people the option to choose how to use their facilities,” Baker said. “We told the local people who organized our tournaments that they needed to make accommodations for the people who play.”
Baker also initially refused to agree with the idea that biological men have physical advantages over female athletes. When asked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) if trans athletes have an advantage, Baker said the idea was debatable.
“There’s not a lot of research on it, but it’s certainly debatable,” Baker said.
Kennedy raised the question a second time, asking if Baker didn’t think that “a biological man has an advantage whenever he competes against a biological woman.”
The NCAA president changed his answer and said, “I think the way you defined it, yes, I would agree with you.”
When Baker was asked about why he and the NCAA had not taken steps to amend policies to prevent trans inclusion in women’s sports, he repeatedly cited federal law and recent federal court rulings that have allowed it. Kennedy loudly encouraged Baker to do something about it anyway.
NCAA President Charlie Baker speaks during a news conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NCAA’s national office moving to Indianapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis. (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/RED USA TODAY)
“Why don’t you go to Amazon, buy a tenderloin online, and take a stand?” Kennedy yelled at Baker.
Trans inclusion in women’s sports has been a major issue in the U.S. The issue has grown in recent years with Lia Thomas winning a national women’s swimming championship and Blaire Fleming helping San Jose State women’s volleyball emerge in the Mountain West Conference Championship.
