AUSTIN, Texas — Transgender athletes can’t play on Texas college sports teams that don’t align with their birth sex under a new law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday.
The measure, which expands a similar effort passed in 2021, was among several passed during this legislative session that negatively impacted LGBTQ people — specifically transgender rights. It prohibits Texas’ public colleges and universities from allowing athletes to participate in intercollegiate competitions against students assigned a different biological sex at birth.
Texas is the latest state to enact this kind of ban. At least 20 states restrict the participation of transgender athletes at the K-12 level, the collegiate level or both. The legislation, by GOP Sen. Mayes Middleton, is called the “Save Women’s Sports” act.
“Women’s sports are being threatened,” Abbott said. “The legacy of women’s sports will be safeguarded for generations to come.”
Critics say the law discriminates against transgender athletes and note that very few openly transgender athletes compete at the university-level.
“This discriminatory law does nothing to help women’s sports and could put all college sports in Texas at risk for athletes, fans, and businesses by conflicting with NCAA Title IX rules,” said Ash Hall, Policy & Advocacy Strategist at the ACLU of Texas.
Abbott signed the law during Pride month. He also has signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, making Texas the largest state to prohibit the medical treatment. The law contradicts the recommendation of major medical organizations in the country. The Legislature also passed proposals regulating the discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools and restricting “sexually oriented performances,” which was initially filed as a way to ban minors from attending drag shows.
The three-term Republican governor did not hold a public ceremony when he signed the ban on health care for transgender youth, choosing to do that in private with no reporters. As of Thursday, he has not signed the bill on the restriction of sexually oriented performances but it still becomes law if he does not veto it by Sunday.
The bill banning transgender college athletes takes effect on Sept. 1. A person’s biological sex will be determined by what was noted on the athlete’s birth certificate “at or near” the time of birth. Certificates modified since birth would only be considered correct if they were changed to correct a “scrivener or clerical error.”
The law allows people to bring civil actions against teams or institutions they believe break the rules.
Texas did not have an openly transgender athlete compete at any of the state’s four-year universities involved in NCAA-sanction sports, The Austin American-Statesman reported in March.
Representatives from 13 schools, including the University of Texas and Texas State University, told the Statesman that they were not aware of ever having had a transgender athlete compete; the remaining declined or did not respond.
“This is an answer to a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Andrea Segovia, senior field and policy adviser for the Transgender Education Network of Texas. “What are the priorities of the state is always my question.”
Former and current women’s athletes attended Thursday’s signing ceremony, including two athletes from UT — rising senior swimmer Ellie McLeod and rising redshirt sophomore volleyball player Makenna Miller — and Kassidy Comer, a rising redshirt sophomore basketball player at Midwestern State University.
The athletics department at Texas and Midwestern State did not immediately respond to questions on whether the athletes attended as representatives of the universities or on their own accord.
It’s unclear how the law will be implemented should a Texas public school compete against another out-of-state university who has an openly transgender athlete. Abbott said it will be up to the individual teams to decide if they want to compete against each other.
Supporters of the bill say it’s about fairness in women’s sports by ensuring that women would only be competing against other biological women. Jeri Shanteau, a former All-American collegiate swimmer and 11-time national champion for Auburn University, said the law is not about discriminating against transgender people.
“We need to make sure that we are aware that we’re protecting female sports. We’re not trying to take away from anyone else,” Shanteau said.
Shanteau said she never competed against a transgender athlete.
Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who swam for the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s team in 2021 and 2022, was the target of conservative backlash against transgender rights. Thomas is from Austin and went to Westlake High School. She graduated in 2022.
“Just like their fellow athletes, trans athletes vary in ability and body type — factors such as physical training, conditioning, dedication, and experience determine athletic performance more than anything else,” said Marti Bier, vice president of programs for the Texas Freedom Network. “Texas’ talented student-athletes deserve the freedom to bring their full selves to the field and court.”
