Amid a wave of bills essentially
seeking to exclude transgender
athletes from sports.
The NCAA reaffirmed its support for
transgender student-athletes
competing on teams that align with
their gender identity.
This really shouldn't be
a controversial issue,
unfortunately it continues to be.
But I do want to read you
a statement from the organization
where they say that this commitment
is grounded in our values of
inclusion and fair competition.
Our clear expectation as the
Association's top governing body is
that all student-athletes will be
treated with dignity and respect.
We are committed to ensuring that
NCAA championships are open for
all who earn the right to compete
in them.
Now, as I mentioned, there are many
states that have attempted
to pass anti-transgender bills.
Unfortunately Arkansas succeeded in
passing one just recently.
In response to that,
the NCAA says when determining
where championships are held, NCAA
policy directs that only locations
where hosts can commit to providing
an environment that is safe,
healthy and free of discrimination
should be selected.
And I do want to get back to that
in just a minute.
But before I do, Woz,
as a sports reporter, sports and
NBA writer over at the athletic,
I'm sure you have your own thoughts
on this?
>> Yeah, I'm no fan of the NCAA,
but as the famous saying goes,
even the sun shines on a dog's ass,
right?
They finally could do [LAUGH]
>> One thing right,
you know what I'm saying?
And they've done similar things
like this in the past, I think with
North Carolina's bathroom bill that
was anti-transgender.
They stepped in and said, look,
we won't hold certain tournament
games or conference
tournament games, the SEC.
They said they wouldn't have
SEC championship games and
college football in states like
South Carolina and Mississippi
who still had the stars and
bars on their state flags.
They've set precedent like this in
the past and stepped in and
tried to get the right thing done.
This is so clearly a non issue as
far as this idea that there's
a bunch of trans-people just
playing college sports and ruining
the balance of power for everybody.
It's just not true.
This isn't a problem that actually
exists.
It's just a bunch of people fear
mongering and
pretending that they're aggrieved
by something that again is just
a miniscule amount of people who
this actually matters to.
It's honestly,
it's more about getting the message
out there that we're not going to
be anti-trans in supporting this
type of legislation.
There's no reason for it, right?
[LAUGH] There's no epidemic of
a bunch of a trans-people
just taking all the accolades and
the glory from everybody in
the NCAA, from their fellow
student-athletes who aren't trans.
It's just, it's ridiculous but yes,
the NCAA for
once get something right.
>> So, okay, let's put a pin on
the things that it gets wrong
because I'm super curious to hear
what you have to say about that.
Before we get to that,
though, obviously there have been
many states that have turned this
into a giant issue, right?
And so, 26 states for instance,
26 state legislatures introduced 41
bills in just the first two months
of 2021 to exclude trans-youth from
teams that align with their
gender identity.
Three such bills passed in March
alone with proponents of the laws
claiming they're needed to ensure
fair competition.
So, Woz you just mentioned that
this is not even an issue, right?
It's not as if there's
like this insane prevalence of,
all these people who are now
identifying as a different gender,
it's a non, it's not a problem.
It's really not a problem but
usually Republican led legislators
are making it a problem.
And so I want to get your
thoughts on that.
Why is it that they're so
hyper-focused on
trans student-athletes when it's
not really an issue at all?
>> It's part of the culture war
and I think the sort of muscular
language that the left is going to
use or liberals use in defense
of trans-people definitely
scares the bejesus out of your
average sort of run of the mill
conservative person, right?
When they hear pro-trans
rhetoric just by itself,
it seems to them this crazy thing
that liberals are going through.
So that's what the Republicans
are counting on.
They're counting on the rhetoric
in the message of liberals to be so
scary to their base vote and
it's all it is,
this more culture war nonsense.
Again, they can't point to me.
And let's be clear,
this legislation isn't aimed at
people who were, I guess born with
the body parts of a woman and self
identify with being a man, right?
No, they're talking about
the reverse.
They're fear-mongering about this
idea that people who they
considered to be dudes are playing
in women's sports and Susie and
Carol are getting screwed out
of all of their accolades by
these dudes.
Again, their words, not mine.
And again, you can't point to me in
the fields of track and field or
water polo or swimming or
basketball or soccer or.
Show me the NCAA sport where people
who were born with women body parts
and self identify as women were
they're just getting screwed over
left and
right by these trans-people.
Then you can't point to any actual
tangible evidence of this and
it's just fear mongering and
in the future,
a bunch of dudes are just going to,
it's just, it's ridiculous.
[LAUGH] It's ridiculous.
>> So, I said I would get to
Florida because Florida was
considering its own anti-trans
legislation.
And political reports that while
not mentioning Florida by name,
the statement from the NCAA Board
of Governors comes just one day
before the House in Florida of
course, is slated to take up its
proposal clarifying that female
sports teams are specifically for
biological women and girls.
State lawmakers were quick
to criticize the NCAA's take on
the issue.
But it appears that they've backed
away from a vote on
that legislation with a full
Florida House set to consider
its transgender sports ban Tuesday,
meaning today.
Senate leaders late on Monday opted
to withdraw the upper chamber's
proposal from an upcoming agenda.
Senator Kelli Stargel or
Stargel, the Lakeland Republican
who sponsored FL SB 2012, is
pulling the bill from Wednesday's
busy Rules committee meeting,
Senate spokesperson Katie Betta
tweeted on Monday.
So, it looks like they're backing
out because these team sports tend
to also.
I mean, I don't want to say
something that's incorrect, but
my understanding is these types of
events usually bring in some money,
right?
>> Yeah, no, of course. [CROSSTALK]
>> No economic,
like booms for any of these places.
If you get a SEC football
championship game in your city,
that's going to be tons and
tons and tons of revenue process.
Sort of, and I think another
thing that people underestimate is
sort of a cultural,
sort of cachet to having a huge
sporting event in your city.
People feel better.
They feel this city is worthy of
something when they have these
events outside of the economics
of it.
There's just something about having
these huge sporting events in
the city that you live in, whether
it be something like Charleston,
South Carolina or Oxford,
Mississippi, whatever.
There's something to that, that
we've big time enough to host such
a huge event that's going to be
widely viewed out in the country.
And again, of course, paired with
all the money that pours in
when these events are in your town.
From hotels to restaurants to bars
to everything associated
with a huge sporting event.
So it's both of those things.
People like the clout of having a
major sporting event in their city.
And of course,
there's money involved.