Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to block transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, arguing that it misleads and misleads fans.
The lawsuit filed in state district court in Lubbock and announced Sunday contends that the NCAA violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting women's sports that may include a transgender athlete. The law is designed to protect consumers from being deceived or tricked into purchasing products or services that are not as advertised, according to the lawsuit.
The Texas lawsuit is the latest attempt by conservative politicians to attack transgender athletes and pressure the NCAA to ban them from competing. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to stop trans athletes from competing.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent the NCAA from allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports in Texas, or in sports involving Texas programs. Or he wants the court to require the NCAA to stop marketing events as women's sports if transgender athletes are allowed.
In a statement, Paxton appeared to reference the recent controversy involving San Jose State women's volleyball, where several opponents lost matches this season on the grounds that the Spartans had a transgender player.
Last month, a federal court refused to stop the school from playing in the Mountain West Conference championship game.
“When people watch a women's volleyball match, for example, they expect to see women playing against other women, not biological men pretending to be something they're not,” Paxton said. “Radical 'gender theory' has no place in college sports.”
The Associated Press is not revealing the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity and, through school officials, has declined an interview request.
Paxton accused the NCAA of “intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and well-being of women” and turning women's sports into “co-ed competitions.”
The NCAA does not track data on transgender athletes among the 544,000 athletes currently competing on 19,000 teams at various levels across the country. NCAA President Charlie Baker testified before Congress earlier this month that he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender.
“College sports are the primary arena for women's sports in the United States, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women's sports, and ensure fair competition. at all NCAA championships,” the NCAA said in a statement Monday.
Brooke Slusser, the San Jose State volleyball co-captain who was among the players who sued the Mountain West Conference over her teammate's participation, praised Texas' lawsuit on social media.
“Hey NCAA, in case you haven't noticed yet, this fight is going to keep getting harder for you until you make a change!” Slusser published in X.
The NCAA established a policy in 2010 requiring trans athletes who were assigned male at birth to complete at least one year of testosterone suppression therapy before being eligible to compete on a women's team.
Trans athletes who were assigned female at birth and transitioned to male can compete on a male team, but if they have received testosterone treatment, they are not eligible to compete on a female team.
Athletes must meet their chosen sport's standards for documented testosterone levels at various points during the season.
In 2022, the NCAA revised its policy in what the organization called an attempt to align with national sports governing bodies. If a governing body does not have a policy for trans athletes, then the policy of the international federation that oversees the sport applies. If there is no international federative policy, then the previously established Olympic policy criteria would be followed.
