The NCAA has transformed from pioneer to pawn in complex effort for transgender inclusion

The NCAA was considered by many LGBTQ experts to be a pioneer with its 2011 guidelines for transgender athlete participation, helping member universities develop fair policies during a novel time when George Washington basketball player Kye Allums – the first openly transgender Division I athlete – was competing on the women's team. 

After Allums publicly transitioned in 2010, the NCAA granted eligibility for the student-athlete to play on the women's team because  Allums had not begun gender-affirming hormone therapy – when the testosterone boost would've provided an unfair advantage. The guidelines stated that transgender women could compete without surgery if they underwent one year of hormone therapy – blocking an unfair edge derived from natural testosterone. 

Fast-forward a decade, and former athletes say the once-out-front NCAA is far more reactive than proactive. CeCé Telfer, the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA title by claiming the 400-meter hurdles Division II title in 2019, worries about the safety and inclusivity in college sports "facing a major regression" with a more reactive approach. 

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"When I was a collegiate athlete, the NCAA was a true pioneer in their efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment," Telfer told USA TODAY Sports. "I'm concerned that the rights of transgender athletes could be in danger. If we're unable to decipher the rules governing transgender athletes, then we could quickly be heading to inevitable discrimination." 

Enter Lia Thomas, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, who has become the discriminatory focal point of transgender fairness. Thomas' breakout performances last year prompted the NCAA to adjust and subsequently readjust its rules at the beginning of this year to address the backlash against Thomas' success. 

"The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned," Thomas said Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "People will say, 'Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.' I transitioned to be happy, to be true to myself."

Though Thomas became the most notable trans athlete, she is part of a larger story about how the NCAA has fallen behind in creating a welcoming environment for transgender athletes. 

"If people sat down and read the comments people say about Lia, they'd be horrified," said Helen Carroll, the sports projects director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and an adviser to Thomas. "Some comments say, 'Go cut your parts off' or, 'Go die.' And that's putting it mildly." 

More:Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas says she didn't transition to gain advantage in college sport

Title IX: Falling short at 50

In January, the NCAA's board of governors unilaterally changed the rules for transgender athletes, following the playbook of the International Olympic Committee that requires transgender women to document sport-specific testosterone levels before their championship selections. That rule change backfired because in February, USA Swimming indirectly targeted Thomas by requiring transgender female swimmers to have testosterone counts of less than 5 nanomoles per liter for three consecutive years to compete. 

Recognizing that the rule would've been unfair to Thomas, the NCAA again adjusted its policy, so Thomas was allowed to compete in March in the swimming national championships – where she won the 500 freestyle and placed fifth and eighth in the 200 and 100 freestyles. 

"At a 2020 summit meeting, a lot of us met with the NCAA, and it was decided that we should not change the rules until we have the full data on testosterone levels to support it, which we expected to have ready by somewhere around spring of 2022," said Carroll, who advised NCAA leadership in creating the 2011 outlines and has remained a consultant. 

Shortly after Thomas' success sent shockwaves throughout college sports in December 2021, the NCAA's plans dramatically morphed. 

"The NCAA board of governors decided to throw everything out and do what the (IOC) is doing, which is punt to the national governing bodies of each sport," Carroll said. "All of us who worked for years – a decade – on getting this updated right were taken aback and shocked. To be clear, the board of governors are not experts on any of this." 

Gail Dent, the NCAA associate director of communications, referred USA TODAY Sports to the NCAA's policy and noted, "We can’t speculate on what the future holds at this point."

The NCAA's deference to society 

The NCAA's inconsistent rule changes not-so-coincidentally come when transgender competition has been a national political emphasis. In 2021, 60 bills passed in 31 states arguing that transgender female athletes shouldn't compete in girls' sports at the high school level. A USA TODAY investigation last year found that a majority of proposed state bans lacked empirical evidence.  

Cleveland-based attorney and sports rights consultant Ricky Volante said political influence probably contributed to the NCAA acting prematurely with rule changes and accentuated a balancing act that the organization has tried to manage between appeasing its member institutions – with their often Republican support bases – and protecting student-athletes. 

"What I find interesting is the NCAA rarely makes these big decisions fast," Volante said. "So for them to do a 180 on (transgender participation) rules, that's something they simply haven't done in the past. And any time you're reactive as a sports organization, mistakes can be made, and people can get hurt. Transgender athletes could be legitimately at risk."

Cathryn Oakley, the state legislative director and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, told USA TODAY the NCAA's indecisive approach could have a trickle-down effect that can be detrimental to younger athletes. 

"The NCAA's rules are sending completely mixed messages," Oakley said. "It's very confusing for the athletes. The NCAA has been very on-the-record about being against these bills in states. Now, they've just kind of gone quiet on it.

"What they're doing (with the rule changes) is inherently unfair and upside down about what sports are supposed to be about. If you follow the rules, then they change the rules because they don't like that you're winning, well, that's discrimination."

Oakley pointed out that the NCAA has taken firm stances – moving its championship events in 2016 from North Carolina when a discriminatory House Bill 2 targeted transgender female athletes – and that only recently has the tone changed. 

Cyd Zeigler, co-founder of Outsports.com and an LGBTQ advocate, said the NCAA's lack of a firm response has the potential to cause massive repercussions.

"It's pretty incomprehensible how badly the NCAA screwed up their rules in January. … If they were smart, they'd get the right people in the room like they had been and make these decisions that way," Zeigler said. "Right now, this type of mismanagement should give everyone concern for the future." 

That future could fall on NCAA championship locations.

"One of the elephants in the room," Zeigler said, "is if the NCAA will ban championship games in states like Texas and Florida. That's a slippery slope because when you start telling states like that they can't host, then they might just leave the NCAA altogether. The NCAA has been trying to avoid pissing off the powers that be so much that they've lost so many people's trust by not going one way or the other on an issue like this." 

How the athletes are hurting amid policymaking 

Telfer, training to compete in the 2022 Outdoor Championships for USA Track and Field, has been regularly targeted and bullied over social media and in athletic competitions.

"Collegiate and professional athletes face incredible challenges and adversity, which takes a significant physical and mental toll on you," Telfer said. "When you add the additional pressure and scrutiny that a transgender athlete faces in these hyper-competitive and extreme political environments, it can be crippling. 

"Trans and nonbinary athletes simply love their sport. We train hard and follow the requirements from sport governing bodies to participate. Still, we have been the focus of violent attacks and abusive rhetoric."

More:Penn swimmer Lia Thomas becomes first trans woman to win NCAA swimming championship

Dr. Anna Baeth, the director of research for LGBTQ advocacy group Athlete Ally, said the NCAA's rule changes this year lead "to deeper questions about the safety and fairness the NCAA is purporting to promote.

"If athletes like Lia Thomas can be put on stage by lawmakers and the media, and then institutions like the NCAA and U.S. Swimming respond with restrictive policies that limit athletes' abilities to compete, are we in fact protecting trans athletes and the sanctity of fairness in sport? Decidedly not."

Transgender inclusion expert Joanna Harper, a former scientific adviser to the IOC, said the debate of an "unfair advantage" is far more complex and nuanced than the January rule changes reflect. Harper pushed against the NCAA being the scapegoat, agreeing with the governing body's determination that transgender athletes' participation be determined on a sport-by-sport basis, albeit needing far more "reliable" scientific data on testosterone counts for each sport coming from the top down instead of punting to the IOC.

She credited the NCAA for going against USA Swimming in readjusting its rules in February. 

"I rolled my eyes when I saw what USA Swimming did," said Harper, a physicist, researcher and visiting fellow for transgender athletic performance at Loughborough University in London. "But the NCAA let Lia swim, and that was an important, valuable decision made. She won one race and got beat in two others. Isn't that the definition of meaningful competition?"

Carroll said she and her fellow advocates won't back down from the NCAA. 

"We plan to hold their feet to the fire," Carroll said. "The NCAA has a responsibility to protect these trans athletes."

Follow national reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.