A group of over 550 college athletes throughout the country sent a letter to the NCAA on Wednesday calling for the removal of championship games in states with, or in the process of making, laws banning transgender youth from playing sports with their gender identity, according to a report from Sports Illustrated. States that this currently applies to include Idaho, Mississippi and South Dakota.
Runners from Washington University in St. Louis led organizing efforts for this letter, addressed to NCAA President Mark Emmert and the NCAA Board of Governors, among the athletes. Aliya Schenck and Alana Bojar joined national LGBTQ advocacy organizations GLAAD and Athlete Ally to create the letter.
"We, the undersigned NCAA student-athletes, are extremely frustrated and disappointed by the lack of action taken by the NCAA to recognize the dangers of hosting events in states that create a hostile environment for student-athletes," the letter began, per SI.
"You have been silent in the face of hateful legislation in states that are slated to host championships, even though those states are close to passing anti-transgender legislation."
Athletes who signed the letter came from schools such as Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Villanova through sports like basketball, cross-country, gymnastics, and rowing, among others.
Last year, Idaho passed a law that effectively banned trans women and girls from playing collegiate and youth sports aligning with their gender identity. This year, Mississippi and South Dakota have passed such bans through their respective statehouses, and 25 other states have proposed such laws. A letter from college athletes was sent last year, and garnered a response from the NCAA, but action was taken in delaying or removing championships set in the state.
The NCAA has postponed or transferred events from states with laws that don't align with the organization's purported values in the past. In 2016, this was the case in North Carolina that had a law banning trans people from using bathrooms that matched their gender identity. Since 2001, no championships have been held at schools using racist imagery against Native people, or in states that fly the Confederate flag.
