Texas Judge Denies Injunction Seeking Mandatory Gender Testing in NCAA Women’s Sports
A Texas judge has rejected a request for an injunction that aimed to compel the NCAA to implement mandatory gender testing for athletes, a move intended to exclude transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The ruling, delivered by Lubbock County Judge Les Hatch, a Republican, followed a hearing initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton had filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in response to its revised gender eligibility policy.
The NCAA’s updated policy, implemented in February, aligned with former President Donald Trump’s executive order, effectively banning biological male athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports. However, Paxton, along with several women’s rights advocates, argued that the NCAA’s policy was insufficient in preventing trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. They contended that mandatory gender testing was a necessary measure to enforce the ban.
Paxton’s case was bolstered by the testimony of three former women collegiate athletes who claimed to have been negatively affected by the inclusion of transgender athletes in their respective sports. Brooke Slusser, a former volleyball player at San Jose State University, shared her experiences of sharing a team, locker room, and bedroom with a former teammate, Blaire Fleming. Kaitlynn Wheeler, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, and Kylee Alons, a former North Carolina State University swimmer, recounted their experiences competing against Lia Thomas, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer.
Despite Paxton’s arguments and the personal accounts of the athletes, Judge Hatch was not persuaded to grant the injunction. The NCAA issued a statement to Fox News Digital following the ruling, asserting that the new NCAA policy aligns with the "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order" issued by the Trump administration. The statement also expressed the NCAA’s anticipation for a successful championship season for its female student-athletes.
Former President Trump, who has been vocal about the issue of transgender athletes in sports, had previously praised the NCAA’s revised policy in a Truth Social post on February 6. He attributed the policy change to his executive order, stating that it was a "great day for women and girls across our country."
Critics of the NCAA’s current policy have raised concerns that relying solely on birth certificates could allow transgender athletes to bypass the ban, as many states permit individuals to amend their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity. Currently, 44 states allow for birth certificate amendments, with Florida, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Montana being the only exceptions. Furthermore, 14 states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan, allow for gender changes on birth certificates without requiring any medical documentation.
However, the NCAA has clarified that amended birth certificates will not be accepted as sufficient evidence for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Kaitlynn Wheeler, one of the former collegiate athletes who testified in the case, expressed her disappointment with the ruling but remained optimistic, viewing it as merely a "bump in the road." She affirmed her commitment to continue fighting to protect fairness in women’s sports, urging lawmakers and the courts to intervene if the NCAA fails to act.
Similarly, Kim Slusser, Brooke Slusser’s mother, who also testified at the hearing, expressed her disappointment with the ruling but vowed to persist in the fight. She acknowledged the setbacks along the way but expressed confidence that they would ultimately prevail.
Brooke Slusser is currently involved in two separate lawsuits related to the alleged situation at San Jose State. She is a plaintiff in another lawsuit against the NCAA, alongside Alons, Wheeler, and led by Riley Gaines, challenging the NCAA’s previous gender eligibility policy. Additionally, Slusser is leading a lawsuit against San Jose State University and the Mountain West Conference, along with 10 other conference players and her former assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, regarding the handling of Blaire Fleming.
Attorney General Paxton also has another lawsuit against the NCAA over its previous policy. Filed in December, the lawsuit accuses the NCAA of "engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading practices by marketing sporting events as ‘women’s’ competitions only to then provide consumers with mixed-sex competitions where biological males compete against biological females."
