NCAA weighs in on HB 500; Boise State in danger of losing 2021 NCAA tournament games
The NCAA took a stance on Idaho’s House Bill 500 on Thursday, issuing an official statement on the law, which limits transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
The statement came one day after athletes and advocacy groups sent a letter asking that Idaho be banned from hosting NCAA-sponsored events while the law is on the books.
“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,” the statement read.
Boise State’s ExtraMile Arena is scheduled to host first- and second-round games in the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but those contests are in jeopardy.
The NCAA requires host sites to “demonstrate how they will provide an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination, plus safeguards the dignity of everyone involved in the event,” per Thursday’s release. The NCAA Board of Governors is scheduled to discuss the legislation and its implications during its August meeting.
College athletics’ governing body has a history of moving events out of states over transgender laws. In 2016-17, it moved seven championship events out of North Carolina because of HB 2, which, in part, banned people from using public bathrooms that didn’t correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate.
After boycotts by professional sports leagues and entertainers, North Carolina modified the law in 2017 and NCAA events returned to the state.
“NCAA championships are open to everyone, and the association is committed to assuring that its events are safe and healthy for all who attend,” Thursday’s statement read. “It is our clear expectation that all NCAA student athletes will be welcomed, treated with respect and have nondiscriminatory participation wherever they compete.”
More than 400 athletes and members of 60 organizations signed letters sent to the NCAA on Wednesday, according to a press release from ACLU of Idaho. The list included famous athletes like Billie Jean King, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird.
Included among the signatures on a letter from athletes was Boise State cross country and track athlete Malia Pivec.
Idaho lawmakers voted Feb. 26 to pass House Bill 500, which is also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. Gov. Brad Little signed it into law March 30.
The law applies to all teams sponsored by public high schools, colleges and universities. It does not allow girls or women’s teams to admit those born as male, even if they identify as female. It does not apply to transgender athletes who want to compete on boys or men’s teams.
In April, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, 19, a transgender Boise State University student, and a 17-year-old unnamed non-transgender Boise High School student. Both identify as female.
“Transgender people belong everywhere — and that includes in sports and in Idaho,” ACLU campaign strategist Arli Christian said in Wednesday’s release. “While the lawsuit against the state of Idaho moves through the courts, it is important for everyone to speak out so that Idaho — and the rest of the country — sees how misguided and dangerous this law is.”
On Sunday, the Idaho Statesman published a guest editorial from Idaho State University athlete Madison Kenyon, who voiced her support for HB 500 and announced her intention to join a lawsuit to defend it.
On Wednesday, the Alliance Defending Freedom issued a statement in defense of the law. The ADF, representing Kenyon and fellow Idaho State track athlete Mary Kate Marshall, has filed a federal motion to intervene in the ACLU’s lawsuit. ADF attorneys are also representing several female athletes in a similar case in Connecticut.
“Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was designed to protect fair competition and athletic opportunities for female athletes,” ADF legal counsel Christiana Holcomb said. “The NCAA should ignore calls to punish the state of Idaho for courageously protecting the integrity of women’s sports.”
“Comparably fit and trained male athletes will always have physical advantages over females; that’s the whole reason we have girls’ sports as a separate category,” Holcomb continued. “If we ignore these clear biological differences, female athletes will lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete in the sports they love.”
If the schedule remains unchanged, 2021 will mark the 10th time NCAA Tournament games were hosted on Boise State’s campus. In 2018, Boise played host to six first- and second-round games, which drew about 12,000 fans to each two-game session in what was then called Taco Bell Arena.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 1:10 PM.
