Over 400 student, professional and Olympic athletes and 60 advocacy groups have asked the NCAA to remove sponsored events from Idaho while House Bill 500 is in place, as originally reported by Sports Illustrated.
House Bill 500, or the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, bans transgender women from participating in women’s high school and college sports in Idaho based on “inherent differences that are physiological, chromosomal, and hormonal,” according to previous Argonaut reporting. The bill overruled previous NCAA and Idaho High School Activities Association women’s athletics policies when it was passed in March.
The advocacy group letter stated since the adoption of the law “directly impacts college athletics, violates NCAA values, and undermines the dignity and well-being of NCAA athletes, Idaho schools no longer qualify to host NCAA events.”
The NCAA responded to HB 500, earlier today stating, “as we have previously stated, Idaho’s House Bill 500 and resulting law is harmful to transgender student-athletes and conflicts with the NCAA’s core values of inclusivity, respect and the equitable treatment of all individuals.”
They added the NCAA Board of Governors was scheduled to discuss the legislation in their August meeting.
The letters from athletes are separated by professional and collegiate level and are available on the Athlete Ally website.
According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Boise State University is set to host the first two rounds of games in the NCAA men’s tournament March 18-20, 2021. BSU announced in a statement it will follow NCAA guidance until HB 500 goes into effect July 1. Maria Lopez, a BSU assistant women’s tennis coach, and Malia Pivec, a BSU junior cross country and track athlete, signed the collegiate letter.
The NCAA has pulled events for similar reasons before. In the 2016-17 season, the NCAA pulled seven championship events out of North Carolina because a law in the state banned people from using public bathrooms that did not correspond with their sex at birth. Before 2015, South Carolina was ineligible to host NCAA events for 13 years because the Confederate flag flew above the Columbia statehouse.
The University of Idaho’s ASUI Senate passed a resolution on March 11 in opposition of HB 500. ASUI Senate Bill S20-R07 passed with only one senator not in favor of the resolution. The resolution was sent to news organizations, the UI president, Idaho legislations and other schools.
The Argonaut previously reported on how HB 500 affects transgender students. Read about the impact on UI students in these two stories.
Alexis Van Horn can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlexisRVanHorn