NCAA President Charlie Baker came under heavy scrutiny after defending the organization’s current policies that have allowed trans athletes to compete against women during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Baker addressed the issue again during an interview on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. When McAfee asked Baker how his daughters’ parents should feel about trans athletes in women’s sports and the NCAA’s record on the matter, the president sought to minimize the impact of the issue.
“There are 510,000 college athletes playing in the NCAA, there are less than 10 transgender athletes, so it’s a small community to begin with,” Baker said.
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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/USA Today Network)
It was the same statistic Baker offered in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday when asked about specific numbers. Sen. Dick DurbinDill. She also faced backlash when she posted a clip of Baker providing the statistic with a caption that read, “Let’s focus on ways to really improve women’s sports.”
At that hearing, Baker also suggested that female athletes who feel alienated by sharing a locker room with trans athletes “should be given the opportunity to use other facilities if they so choose.”
On Thursday, Baker repeated the same justification for the NCAA’s policies during the interview with McAfee. Baker referenced five recent court rulings that have allowed trans athletes to compete against biological women in the past 15 months. On Tuesday he referenced five cases in the last 18 months.
Only one ruling allowed a trans athlete to compete at the collegiate level. He has not specifically identified any of the other cases, but mentioned that some have occurred at the high school level.
The ruling you are referring to was by Colorado District Judge Kato Crews in November, which allowed the trans volleyball player Blair Fleming to compete in the San Jose State University Mountain West Tournament. That ruling came after an emergency court order by other conference players to remove the athlete from competition.
Crews wrote that the plaintiffs’ request for an emergency delay was “unreasonable” and “would risk confusion and disrupt months of planning and harm, at a minimum, [San Jose State] and other teams participating in the tournament.”
However, Crews’ ruling did not address the issue of trans inclusion at a macro level. He simply rejected a proposal that would disqualify a player, and potentially an entire team, from a conference tournament.
THE FATHER OF A RUNNER FORCED TO COMPETE WITH A TRANS ATHLETE SHARES THE FURY OF THE SITUATION: ‘I CAN’T EVEN DIGEST IT’
A transgender rights advocate participates in a demonstration in front of the United States Supreme Court building. Trans rights activists protested on Capitol Hill outside House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office on Thursday. (Getty Images)
During the interview with McAfee on Thursday, Baker said he is open to working toward a clear federal policy on the issue.
“I would love to work with the people in Washington to create a federal standard around this issue, because right now we don’t have one and it’s a problem,” Baker said. “And I accept that it is a hugely controversial and challenging issue, but right now, if you look at the way these issues are decided in the courts, the courts are deciding in favor of participation. Therefore, we stick to the way they are deciding. this.”
During Thursday’s interview, McAfee, who expressed his desire for his daughter to play sports when she grows up, ended the conversation by praising Baker on ESPN airwaves for his handling of the situation.
Charlie Baker looks at the crowd as he walks to center court with Harvard University Director of Athletics Erin McDermott to receive his award honoring the Class of 2022 Legends of Ivy League Basketball during the Ivy Tournament semifinal League between the Pennsylvania Quakers and Yale. Bulldogs on March 12, 2022 at Lavietes Pavilion in Allston, Massachusetts. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“I think you’ll do well Charlie, I think you’ve done a fantastic job since you took over the help, I think you’ve been phenomenally transparent throughout and I can’t thank you enough for making us sport’s puppets a little bit smarter,” McAfee said.
McAfee previously said he believes “men have a clear advantage” over women in sports while discussing the controversy involving Algerian boxer Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics this summer.
“I know it’s not about all the physical bodies of all women or all men. We’re not talking about souls, we’re talking about physical bodies, but at that high level of competition, there is a clear advantage,” McAfee said in August. 1. “There always has been, and I guess there always will be, and I hope we get to a point where we can all agree on this. I think we all feel the same way about it.”
