Penn And The NCAA Are Not On The Same Page

There's been a looming problem for Penn, Lia Thomas, and the Ivy League throughout the bizarre trans swimmer saga -- the NCAA, which represents many schools that, unlike the Ivies, rely heavily on their athletic programs for both serious ticket income and alumni donations, isn't quite ready to open women's sports to male competitors on the same basis as the Ivies. Last month, it tried to duck the controversy by changing its policy and deferring decisions on trans competitors to the individual sports' oversight bodies.

The NCAA Board of Governors on Wednesday [January 19] voted in support of a sport-by-sport approach to transgender participation that preserves opportunity for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete. The new policy, effective immediately, aligns transgender student-athlete participation for college sports with recent policy changes from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and International Olympic Committee.

This past Tuesday, USA Swimming, the relevant oversight body in this case, issued its own guidelines, which are now effective for NCAA competition. These guidelines as written would prevent Lia Thomas, the six foot-four fully intact male swimmer, from competing in the upcoming NCAA championships:

On Tuesday, USA Swimming announced that competitors in women’s events must have recorded low levels of testosterone for 36 months; the previous rule required only one year. Thomas began “transitioning” in May 2019.

The specific policy "will be implemented by a decision-making panel comprised of three independent medical experts and eligibility criteria will consist of:"

Evidence that the prior physical development of the athlete as a male, as mitigated by any medical intervention, does not give the athlete a competitive advantage over the athlete’s cisgender female competitors.

Evidence that the concentration of testosterone in the athlete’s serum has been less than 5 nmol/L (as measured by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) continuously for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months before the date of application.

There were immediate complaints about the policy change, although it isn't completely clear how it would actually affect Thomas's participation in the March NCAA championships.

Some advocates on Twitter argued that USA Swimming targeted Thomas in particular.

“This was a decision SOLELY to eliminate Lia Thomas from the team,” one person said.

Prior to the announcement, Penn was already considering a lawsuit against USA Swimming if its policy prevented Thomas from competing:

The University of Pennsylvania is considering a lawsuit if Lia Thomas is barred from competing in the upcoming NCAA women’s swimming championship, according to a report.

A swimmer on the Penn women’s team, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claimed to Fox News that administrators were considering legal action if Thomas is prohibited from participating in the championship.

“I have a feeling that if USA Swimming changes their rules, they will be filing a lawsuit for Lia to swim, but they wouldn’t do that for us,” she said. “That’s just really upsetting.”

As of this morning, the NCAA is going to get involved again, even if it deferred the decision to USA Swimming last month:

The NCAA will review the transgender policy recently implemented by USA Swimming prior to the women’s NCAA Championships next month, making it possible the new guidelines will be adopted by the organization ahead of the competition which begins on March 16.

. . . The Board of Governors aren’t scheduled to meet again until April, but Dent said they could possibly meet remotely prior to the start of the NCAA Championships.

The need for an updated policy has come to light amidst the ongoing transgender discussion in the sport, sparked by the performances of Lia Thomas, a trans woman, who competes for the University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA.

. . . On Thursday, a group of 16 members on the Penn women’s swim team sent an open letter to the Ivy League and the University of Pennsylvania asking them to follow USA Swimming’s policy and not partake in legal action with the NCAA.

Clearly the situation is fluid, but I have a sense that the NCAA doesn't want new controversies that would threaten the bottom line of big time collegiate sports in the same way that other manifestations of wokeism have hurt the finances of pro football and basketball. The basic problem is that sports fans don't buy this stuff and won't pay to watch it. I would guess the NCAA understands this.