Transgender athletes banned from women’s sports at these Tennessee schools
“We know there are a lot of opinions, and a lot of people have a very emotional reaction to this, and we want to be respectful of all that.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics approved a policy this week banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its more than 200 colleges across the U.S.
The NAIA approved the policy on Monday making the change that all athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports but only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports.
A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as workouts, practices and team activities, but not in intercollegiate competition. However, all students are able to participate in competitive cheer and dance.
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Below is a list of Tennessee NAIA member schools that will have to adhere to the new policy:
- Bethel University
- Bryan College
- Cumberland University
- Fisk University
- Freed-Hardeman University
- Johnson University
- Milligan University
- Tennessee Wesleyan University
- The University of Tennessee Southern
“We know there are a lot of opinions, and a lot of people have a very emotional reaction to this, and we want to be respectful of all that,” Carr said. “But we feel like our primary responsibility is fairness in competition, so we are following that path. And we’ve tried as best we could to allow for some participation by all,” NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The AP contributed to this report.
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