Around New England

Charlie Baker Fine With Male Transgender NCAA Athletes Competing Against Women

March 17, 2023

NCAA president and former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker wants transgender athletes to continue to participate in college sports based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

Baker explained his thinking on this issue in a recent CNN interview, indicating that he won’t change the NCAA’s transgender athletic participation policy.

“You don’t want transgender athletes to have to play by different sets of rules at every step along the way in the process,” Baker told CNN. “Do there need to be rules? Do they have to meet clinical standards to participate? Yes, they should have to meet clinical standards and those should be based on science.”

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s policy provides flexibility to transgender athletes. Under NCAA policy, a biological female may compete on either a men’s team or a women’s team, provided that the athlete is not taking transitioning hormones. If the athlete is taking hormones meant to assist physical transitioning to a masculine identity, then the athlete cannot compete on the women’s team.

Here is what the NCAA’s policy says on the matter (where “FTM” stands for “female-to-male” and “MTF” stands for “male-to-female”):

Trans student-athletes who are not taking hormone treatment related to gender transition may participate in sex-separated sports activities in accordance with their sex assigned at birth.

• A trans male (FTM) student-athlete who is not taking testosterone related to gender transition may participate on a men’s or women’s team.

• A trans female (MTF) student-athlete who is not taking hormone treatments related to gender transition may not compete on a women’s team.

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