ADF: NCAA should reject call to punish Idaho for protecting women’s sports

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb regarding a call issued Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and various female athletes for the NCAA to move its 2021 Men’s Basketball Championship from Idaho because the state passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act that prevents males from competing in women’s sports:

“It’s profoundly ironic and deeply disappointing that a few female athletes—women who have clearly benefited from the athletic opportunities protected by Title IX—are now advocating to abolish female-only 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. 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. Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was designed to protect fair competition and athletic opportunities for female athletes. The NCAA should ignore calls to punish the state of Idaho for courageously protecting the integrity of women’s sports.”

ADF attorneys represent female athletes in Idaho who are seeking to intervene in court to defend the state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act against an ACLU lawsuit attacking the new law.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.

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