NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn led 22 of her Republican colleagues in sending a letter urging National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker to update their student-athlete policy to ensure only biologically female students can participate in women’s sports:

NCAA Has Done Nothing to Ensure Fair Play in Women’s Sports

“Amid the Biden—Harris administration’s unprecedented assault on Title IX, we write to urge the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to update your student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports. The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us, and the NCAA has boasted about its athletes’ participation. Yet the NCAA has still taken no steps to protecting a critical portion of these athletes. Several organizations—including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport—in addition to more than 20 states, have acted recently to protect women’s sports. We urge the NCAA to follow suit and take similar action to promote fair play.”

The Science is Clear: Biological Males Have Innate Athletic Advantage Over Biological Females

“The science is clear. Males have inherent athletic advantages over females due to their anatomy and biology—including through having larger hearts, higher red blood count, greater lung capacity, longer endurance, larger muscle mass, differences in bone density and geometry, and lower body fat. Consistently, when adult males’ athletic performance is contrasted with adult females’ athletic performance in sports relying on endurance, muscle strength, speed, and power, males dominate, outperforming females by 10 to 30 percent… there is an understanding that male hormones give athletes a material and competitive advantage in sports. To allow biological men to compete in women’s sports, while considering testosterone a performance enhancer, is intellectually dishonest. These facts cannot continue to be ignored by the NCAA.”

Women Deserve an Even Playing Field, and NCAA Must Join Other Athletic Organizations to Promote Fair Play

“In April of this year, the NAIA Council of Presidents unanimously approved a new policy prohibiting the participation of males in women’s sports. Similarly, in June of this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Lia Thomas lacked standing to challenge World Aquatic’s policy barring Thomas from competing in the women’s category for the Olympics. These decisions are rooted in the fundamental knowledge that—while each individual should have access to sports—men and women have biological differences that must be respected… The very bedrock of sport is the exhibition of a commitment to excellence, grace under pressure, and fair play among competitors—all of which is threatened absent an even playing field. Women deserve that even playing field and chance to compete, one that can only be achieved by ensuring that only females compete in women’s sports. We urge you to follow the lead of the NAIA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport and adopt policies that protect women’s sports.”

• Riley Gaines, Concerned Women for America, Heritage Action, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, Independent Women's Forum, the Independent Women's Law Center, Champion Women, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition have endorsed this letter.

“In conjunction with the Biden-Harris administration, the NCAA has turned their back on women by disregarding Title IX and its original intent. It's unfair, it's unsafe, and it's discriminatory. I’m grateful to Senator Blackburn and every Senator who has joined this effort to fight for our rights to equal opportunity, privacy, and safety. This is the civil rights issue of our time.” – Riley Gaines, 12x NCAA All-American swimmer

“Men and women are different. Period. Title IX was implemented because of that reality, in order to give women the same opportunities in sports as their male counterparts. But now those opportunities are being ripped away from them because of men who are identifying as female and organizations like the NCAA who are allowing them to compete against women. The NCAA says it supports its female athletes - it's time that those words were followed by actions.” – Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest public policy organization for women

“Men do not belong in women’s sports. This obvious truth is based in science and backed by the vast majority of Americans. By giving men access to women’s spaces and teams, the NCAA is violating its responsibility to protect student athletes from unsafe, unfair competition. The integrity of college sports hinges on the NCAA’s resolve to do the right thing and put the rights of female athletes above political pandering.” – Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President, Heritage Action

“The infiltration of men in women’s sports is an attack on the fundamental principles of fair and ethical competition. ICONS stands fully behind Senator Blackburn’s letter and calls on the NCAA to follow the lead of the NAIA by taking immediate and decisive action to protect the rights of female athletes.” – Marshi Smith & Kim Jones, Co-Founders, Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS)

“The NCAA touts its Emerging Sports For Women Program and other programs meant to encourage female athletes' achievements, all while embracing policies that continue to erase them. The NCAA has rejected pleas from more than 7,000 NCAA athletes, and demands from women’s rights organizations, feminist organizations, sports organizations, female Olympians and lawyers urging the NCAA to take immediate action to repeal its discriminatory policy that allows male athletes to compete in women’s sports — taking trophies, roster sports, playing time, resources, and opportunities to compete from women and girls. Independent Women's Forum and Independent Women's Law Center are grateful for members of Congress who know this is unjust and are asking the NCAA to do the right thing.” – Carrie Lukas, President/Independent Women's Forum and May Mailman, Director/Independent Women's Law Center

“I was at the NCAA meeting when Pat Griffin and Helen Carroll presented their transgender inclusion policy for adoption. We were told that one year of cross-sex hormones would remove male-advantage from men who wanted to compete with women. We were assured that the science was conclusive. Years later, we now know that the science that the NCAA relied on was wrong, and that newer research shows that no amount of hormones or surgery can roll back male athletic advantage. The NCAA should recognize the now well-established science and change their policy to protect women’s sports.” – Nancy Hogshead, J.D., OLY, Founder and CEO, Champion Women

“Both our biblical understanding of God’s design for gender and sexuality as well as mounting scientific evidence underscore the necessity of protecting women in sports. When biological realities are ignored, women are the ones who suffer. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission supports Senator Blackburn’s leadership on this important topic and urges the NCAA to protect the safety and fairness of women’s sports.” – Hannah Daniel, Director of Public Policy, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

• The letter was co-signed by Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.)

Click here to view the full letter.