Cruz Blasts NCAA: ‘Used To Not Be Controversial’ To Note ‘Biological Differences Between Boys And Girls’

 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tore into NCAA President Mark Emmert during a committee hearing on Wednesday about the organization’s apparent decision to become more political, specifically on the issue of transgender athletes in sports.

“I will say, Dr. Emmert, I am concerned about just how political the NCAA has gotten on the question of transgender athletes,” Cruz said during a Commerce Committee hearing. “And in particular, on April 12th of this year, the NCAA stated, quote, ‘The NCAA board of governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student athletes to compete in college sports.’ And the NCAA further said, ‘When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where host[s] can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination should be selected.'”

“That was a not remotely subtle threat for the NCAA to target and boycott any states where legislatures are acting to protect girls’ sports and women’s sports,” Cruz continued. “Now, it used to not be controversial to observe that there are biological differences between boys and girls, and when it comes to athletics, there are — can be significant physical advantages for those who are born biologically male in terms of strength and size. And that’s why we have girls’ sports and boy’s sports and men’s sports and women’s sports in organized athletics. And the science continues to demonstrate that indeed.”

“A University of Manchester study indicated that male puberty provides a 10 to 50 percent physical advantage depending on the sport, with the gap widest in activities that use muscle mass and explosive strength,” Cruz added. “Why does the NCAA think it is fair to girls or to women competing in sports to expect them to compete against individuals who were born biologically male? And is the NCAA concerned about some of the results we’re seeing, for example, Connecticut high school track where biological males are setting record after record after record in girls’ track and winning the championships? Is that fair to the girls and to the women who had been competing in the sports?”

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TRANSCRIPT:

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): So I agree with you on the importance of women’s sports and girl’s sports. I’ve got two daughters ages 10 and 13, and my youngest daughter is an avid softball player. And I think it is wonderful the discipline and teamwork and all of the skills that are developed through participating in athletics. I will say, Dr. Emmert, I am concerned about just how political the NCAA has gotten on the question of transgender athletes. And in particular, on April 12th of this year, the NCAA stated, quote, ‘The NCAA board of governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student athletes to compete in college sports.’ And the NCAA further said, ‘When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where host[s] can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination should be selected.’ That was a not remotely subtle threat for the NCAA to target and boycott any states where legislatures are acting to protect girls’ sports and women’s sports. Now, it used to not be controversial to observe that there are biological differences between boys and girls, and when it comes to athletics, there are — can be significant physical advantages for those who are born biologically male in terms of strength and size. And that’s why we have girls’ sports and boys’ sports and men’s sports and women’s sports in organized athletics. And the science continues to demonstrate that, indeed. A University of Manchester study indicated that male puberty provides a 10 to 50 percent physical advantage depending on the sport, with the gap widest in activities that use muscle mass and explosive strength. Why does the NCAA think it is fair to girls or to women competing in sports to expect them to compete against individuals who were born biologically male? And is the NCAA concerned about some of the results we’re seeing, for example, Connecticut high school track where biological males are setting record after record after record in girls’ track and winning the championships? Is that fair to the girls and to the women who had been competing in the sports?

MARK EMMERT, NCAA PRESIDENT: Senator, first of all, as you point out, this is a very challenging issues and the the member schools of the association have worked very hard to try and not make it a political issue, and rather to be aligned as closely as possible with the Olympic movement, with [what goes] on in both the USA Olympics and the International Olympics. So roughly about 10 years ago, maybe a little longer, the association adopted a policy that both tries to strike a balance between both an inclusive position allowing student athletes to have an opportunity to participate, but also strikes the balance with fairness, much in agreement with what you were just saying, trying to find the fairest playing field for competition. The conclusion was that student athletes in NCAA competition who are transgendered women, for example, are allowed to compete, but only after they’ve been under a doctor’s care for no less than a year and have had testosterone suppression treatments that have lowered … their testosterone levels to be functionally equivalent of a woman. The case, as you cite, in Connecticut, while I don’t know the medical circumstances of those athletes, but based on what I’ve read, they would not have been allowed to compete in NCAA championships. Our policies align with those of the Olympic Committee. We’re also monitoring very closely, and indeed working with the IOC, around some of the research you cited so that we can modify as need be our policies recognizing differences on a sport-by-sport basis. The IOC right now has instructed all the sports federations to look at extant research and other research that may need to be done to find out whether or not there can be fair competitions in individual sports because they utilize different muscle mass and … strength skills. So we’ve been constantly trying to stay abreast of the science and make sure that we’re striking a balance where we don’t put women athletes at a disadvantage while still trying to provide an inclusive environment. Thank you.