Riley Gaines, Sage Steele Warn About Possible NCAA Loophole For Trans-Identifying Male Athletes

Riley Gaines, Sage Steele, and other women’s sports advocates are warning about a possible NCAA loophole that could allow trans-identifying male athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Speaking to Fox News, the former collegiate female swimmer said that the new NCAA policy is “explicitly in conflict” with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which bans biological men from competing in women’s sports.

NCAA announced its new policy for “student-athletes ‘assigned male at birth’ and their participation on women’s teams” following Trump’s EO, which uses “gender identity” language instead of male and female definition for sex. And it is this “gender identity” language that has Gaines and other advocates for girls sports concerned.

“No. 1, first and foremost, this policy removes all accountability from the NCAA, which, of course, is something that has been on their minds for a long time,” Gaines said. “It provides loopholes for both states and schools because it does not define sex, which we have seen now is a problem, unfortunately.”

“I mean, it’s wild we have to define sex-based terms like male and female, but we’ve seen what happens when we don’t,” she added. “We see unelected bureaucrats go through the back door and reinterpret these words to mean what they want them to mean.”

 

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“So, it doesn’t define sex, it doesn’t define male or female, but it does define gender identity,” Gaines continued. “And it defines gender identity as both man and woman. So, of course, you can see where that’s a problem. The qualifications for how they do deem and assign sex is based on your birth certificate, which of course is a piece of paper that we have now seen that can be totally forged and fraudulent.”

Gaines pointed out the fact that 44 states allow a birth certificate to be altered to change a person’s birth sex.

“This policy explicitly allows men and women on the women’s team. No matter how you read it, men are still allowed to receive women’s benefits, which includes access to their locker rooms,” Gaines said. “There’s no screening. There’s no oversight. All of those and more are just a few reasons why this NCAA policy is certainly problematic.”

Gaines’ comments follow ones by former ESPN host Sage Steele who wrote on X, “So @realDonaldTrump signs an EO to protect women’s sports, and this is how the @NCAA amended its policy: men who identify as women can still practice with women, dress in women’s spaces, and even receive scholarships meant for women.  Shame on you @CharlieBakerMA.”

“To be clear: many women’s sports have men PRACTICE with them,” she added. “With parameters, of course.  All good. The rest of it is the issue. The common sense stuff. Again, Congress needs to pass The Protection of Women & Girls in Sports Act to FORCE the @NCAA and states like California to comply. @SenTuberville.”

A spokesperson for the NCAA told the outlet, “The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and athletes assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID.”

Despite NCAA comments, Gaines expressed concern and said “the policy is as clear as mud.”

Related: ESPN Torched For Woke Post About Trump’s EO Banning Men From Women’s Sports