With the transgender community trying to solidify its position in society over the past few years, there has been a major push to let a person compete in the sport they most identify with. This has allowed people like Lia Thomas, who was born a male, to compete as a female swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania. Thomas would dominate the female competition by winning the 1650 freestyle with second place coming in 38 seconds behind him/her. With many stories like this circulating, 1976 Olympic gold medalist and transgender, Caitlyn Jenner, recently spoke about the decision to let biological males compete and admitted protecting women’s sports was important. 

Discussing the issue on Fox News, Jenner stated, “biological boys, I’ve said from the beginning, should not be playing in women’s sports. We need to protect women’s sports.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

Even when talking about Thomas, Jenner admitted, “I don’t know why she’s doing it. She knows when she’s swimming she’s beating the competition by two laps. She was born a biological boy. She was raised as a biological boy. Her cardiovascular system is bigger. Her respiratory system is bigger. Her hands are bigger. She can swim faster. All of this woke world that we’re living in right now is not working.”

Having to make a decision on the matter, the NCAA released a statement, reading, “Like the Olympics, the updated NCAA policy calls for transgender participation for each sport to be determined by the policy for the national governing body of that sport, subject to ongoing review and recommendation by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports to the Board of Governors. If there is no NGB policy for a sport, that sport’s international federation policy would be followed. If there is no international federation policy, previously established IOC policy criteria would be followed.”

They would add, “The policy is effective starting with the 2022 winter championships. Transgender student-athletes will need to document sport-specific testosterone levels beginning four weeks before their sport’s championship selections. Starting with the 2022-23 academic year, transgender student-athletes will need documented levels at the beginning of their season and a second documentation six months after the first. They will also need documented testosterone levels four weeks before championship selections. Full implementation would begin with the 2023-24 academic year.”