Stop the presses! NCAA might do something sensible about transgender locker rooms | Whitley
There’s no easier punching bag than the NCAA. But the esteemed governing body of college athletics has apparently seen the light on one misguided policy.
Specifically, females will no longer be forced to undress while being exposed to male genitalia (and please forgive me for throwing the word "genitalia" at you so early in the morning).
A bunch of swimmers complained about it at a Senate hearing in June. Many competed for Penn last year and had to share a locker room with transgender phenom Lia Thomas.
NCAA president Charlie Baker told a Senate committee last week that changes are likely.
“I don’t believe that policy would be the policy we’d use today,” he said.
Baker’s new on the job and didn’t offer specifics, but his testimony contradicts previous NCAA positions. It pulled seven championship tournaments out of North Carolina in 2016 after that state passed a law requiring people to use bathrooms based on the sex listed on their birth certificates.
Transgender participation in sports has become a huge cultural hot button since, of course. Thomas's obvious biological advantages give her an unfair edge, but I can see both sides of the “fairness vs. equity” debate.
This is different.
“My teammates and I were forced to undress in the presence of Lia, a 6-foot-4 tall, biological male with fully intact male genitalia, 18 times per week,” Penn swimmer Paula Scanlan told senators.
Call me crazy, but I can see why the swimmers might have been uncomfortable. They maybe even had a hard time thinking Thomas met the old-school definition of “female.”
Penn was very new school about the matter. Scanlan was told that Thomas’s presence in the locker room was non-negotiable, and swimmers were offered counseling to “reeducate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.”
Again, call me an old-school looney, but that’s one reeducation camp I won’t be sending my daughters to.
It’s hard enough when non-transgender females have to compete against 6-foot-4 athletes who still have male traits. It’s preposterous when those groups have to strip and take showers together.
The NCAA is figuring that out. If you can’t, I recommend a trip to a reeducation camp specializing in common sense…
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Dud of the Week: The Patriots, for reportedly signing Belichick to a long-term contract extension before the season. The way things are going, Belichick will get his 310th win about the time Brady starts dating Rosie O’Donnell.
Dud II: Michigan, for allegedly having a “vast network” set up to steal opposing teams’ signs. Coach Jim Harbaugh referred all questions to Michigan Compliance Director Lance Armstrong…
I don’t know if the SEC or Big Ten has better football this year, but at least no SEC team has put a picture of Adolf Hitler on its scoreboard…
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In related news, the Cleveland Browns announced Deshaun Watson will not travel with the team if it ever plays a game in Tehran…
NFL owners gave Roger Goodell a three-year contract extension last week. Figures weren’t released, but Goodell will reportedly get a $100 million bonus if he can figure out how to clone Taylor Swift and have her date a player on every team…
Der Fuhrer Redux: In case you didn’t get the reference, Michigan State showed Hitler on its scoreboard as part of a trivia contest. I’d make a Harbaugh crack here, but Hitler jokes are understandably off-limits these days…
Speaking of scoreboard faces, when James Madison kicker Camden Wise lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt, Marshall’s scoreboard showed a giant photo of Michael Scott, the goofball from “The Office.” Camden still made the kick.
If schools really want to rattle kickers in those spots, they should put up a picture of any FSU kicker against Miami in the past 40 years…
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Madison Square Garden last week presented John Mayer with a guitar made out of an old Knicks basketball court. In keeping with franchise tradition, the instrument will stop functioning once the NBA playoffs start…
Equity Update: In another attempt to battle discrimination and save on its water bill, Penn has announced its women’s lacrosse and men’s football team will start sharing a locker room and showers…
Alex Rodriguez said last week that he’s upset the Yankees haven’t retired his number 13. A club spokesperson said in lieu of that, the Yankees might bury A-Rod’s vast collection of steroid syringes next to Babe Ruth’s plaque in Monument Park…
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Until next time, if you spot a strange man in your bushes, don’t panic. It’s probably just a confused Michigan spy looking for the nearest Big Ten game.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley. Opinions are his and don't necessarily reflect those of the Gainesville Sun.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: NCAA might ease transgender locker room rules
