College athletic governing body creates policy banning transgender women from women's teams

PENNSYLVANIA (WPVI) -- An athletic governing body for small colleges is now embroiled in a big controversy over transgender women in sports.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Monday approved a policy that prohibits transgender women athletes from competing on women's teams in the college conferences under NAIA.

The NAIA unanimously approved a transgender participation policy. It states that, while all athletes can compete in NAIA men's sports, only people assigned female at birth can participate in women's sports.

The association says it's seeking fairness in competition.

That's something Pennsylvania Republican State Representative Martina White agrees with as co-sponsor of the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which seeks to enact a similar regulation when it comes to transgender women in sports.

"The new policy introduced by the NAIA is a significant development towards safeguarding the integrity of women's sports," White said in a statement to Action News. "It acknowledges the pivotal victories achieved through Title IX, which was instrumental in securing women the opportunity to compete on equal footing in sports. Given the undeniable biological differences between men and women, such as disparities in strength, speed, and lung capacity, it's essential to uphold the progress women have made in athletics since the 1970s."

Ash Orr, with the National Center for Transgender Equality, says the notion that transgender women have an advantage in sports isn't true.

"The latest scientific research is clear, trans women and girls do not show any advantage over cisgender girls and women, and trans women have participated in sports for years and there has been no wave of trans women dominating sports," Orr said, adding that policies like the NAIA's new one could be harmful to all women.

"They subject all women and girls to accusations of being too masculine or being too good at their sport to be a real woman or girl," he said.

The NAIA oversees athletic programs in 241 schools. Most are small and private or have a religious affiliation.

Two NAIA schools are in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Schuylkill Campus in Schuylkill Haven and Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

There are no NAIA schools in New Jersey or Delaware. The policy, though, could still have a ripple effect, just like the controversy surrounding University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Thomas' participation in women's sports sparked women athletes to file a lawsuit against the NCAA last month.

South Carolina women's basketball championship coach Dawn Staley recently weighed in on transgender athletes in college sports.

"If you're a woman, you should play," said Staley." If you consider yourself a woman, and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play."

The transgender participation policy goes into effect in August. The NAIA is believed to be the first college association to ever enact such a policy.