Senator Josh Hawley Responds To NCAA Commissioner Defending Transgender Athlete Policies: ‘World Salad’
Policies and practices around transgender athletes in locker rooms and in women's sports have become an increasing topic of conversation in recent years. Increasing numbers of male athletes have dominated women's competitions in swimming, fencing, cycling and many other sports.
While that represents one side of an extremely important issue for competitive fairness, there's another, more personal side as well: locker room access. Former UPenn swimmer Paula Scanlan, for example, detailed how being forced to share a locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas brought back up her own painful past experiences.
Scanlan's concerns however, were essentially ignored by her school, as were concerns from former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines about locker rooms being treated as unisex spaces.
While many politicians have been content to abandon women out of fear as being labeled "transphobic," Senator Josh Hawley has committed to demanding accountability. Hawley recently sent a letter to NCAA Commissioner Charlie Baker after Baker's appearance in front of Congress led to "unimpressive" testimony.
READ: RILEY GAINES, SEN. JOSH HAWLEY LEFT ‘UNIMPRESSED’ BY NCAA’S STANCE ON TRANSGENDERS IN WOMEN’S SPORTS
Baker responded to Hawley's letter with an attempted explanation for the NCAA's policies and procedures around transgender athletes and protecting the safety of female competitors. And Hawley was yet again, extremely unimpressed with what he described as a "word salad" letter.
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2021 examining liability issues during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Carlos Barria-Pool/Getty Images)
NCAA Defends Policies On Transgender Athletes
In Baker's letter, he claimed that the NCAA addresses the concerns of female athletes by making locker rooms, changing rooms and bathrooms "specific for the sport and separately available to men and women are provided for each championship site." Additionally, Baker said in the letter that "for the Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, single-person, gender-neutral options are also available for all participants."
"Regarding locker rooms, the NCAA and its host venues adhere to applicable local, state and federal laws regarding access to facilities," Baker added.
Hawley did not view those answers as satisfactory. In a statement to Fox News, he called that explanation, "meaningless word-salad."
"Whether in a hearing or letter, Charlie Baker and the NCAA can’t give a straight answer about biological men competing in women’s sports," Hawley said. "And until they do, I’ll keep demanding the NCAA provide an explanation that isn’t meaningless word-salad. Female athletes deserve better."
Hawley Correctly Criticizes Insufficient NCAA Answers
In virtually every other area of life in the modern world, ensuring that individuals feel "safe" is viewed as a paramount concern. Even as colleges and organizations have redefined what "safety" means, administrators and officials have bent over backwards to let students know they disagree with "harmful" ideas or that they're committed to removing them entirely. Such as Riley Gaines' speeches extolling competitive fairness in women's sports.
But when it comes to the physical safety of female athletes in locker rooms or in competitions, suddenly "safety" takes a back seat.
Baker's response to Hawley's letter essentially abstains from responsibility by deferring to local jurisdictions or saying they provide single use, gender-neutral options. But that ignores that all too often coaches or administrators choose to err on the side of protecting the feelings and wishes of transgender competitors.
Scanlan's example, where her concerns as a survivor of sexual assault were ignored to prioritize Lia Thomas, shows how all too often, females take a back seat. Baker, the NCAA and colleges must issue clear and concise guidelines that privilege actual safety. Not the progressive version that uses a nonsensical ranking of victimhood to base decisions on.
OutKick reached out to the NCAA for comment on Hawley's criticism of the "world-salad" response, but did not hear back. Based on Baker's answers, it's not likely that the women sharing their concerns will hear back either.