NCAA’s draft constitution could force religious colleges to embrace ‘gender equity,’ critic fears By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is doubling down on a commitment to “gender equity” as concerns grow about the impact of allowing biological males who identify as females to compete in women’s sports.
The NCAA, one of the largest governing bodies overseeing college sports in the United States, released a draft constitution last week that lists commitment to “diversity and inclusion” and “gender equity” among its core principles.
The document stresses that “activities of the Association, its divisions, conferences and member institutions shall be conducted in a manner free of gender bias” and requires “divisions, conferences and member institutions” to “commit to preventing gender bias in athletic activities and events, hiring practices, professional and coaching relationships, leadership and advancement opportunities.”
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The draft constitution mandates that “it is the responsibility of the Association and each division, conference and member institution to comply with federal and state laws and ordinances, including with respect to gender equity, diversity and inclusion.”
In a statement, the NCAA said that “members across all three divisions will vote on the draft constitution at the 2022 NCAA Convention in January.” The Convention will take place from Jan. 19-22 in Indianapolis.
While the language used in the draft constitution was vague, critics fear its “gender equity” provision is a sign that the NCAA is doubling down on its policies that allow biologically male trans-identified students to compete on women’s athletics teams.
In an blog post, Patrick Reilly of the Catholic education-focused Cardinal Newman Society warned of the implications for the NCAA draft constitution on religious institutions of higher education. He contends that “there is an agenda here that threatens religious institutions.”
“Based on the proposed new amendment to the NCAA Constitution, it might be that the NCAA would exclude faithful colleges like Belmont Abbey College, the Catholic University of America and the University of Mary from participation” if they refuse to “abandon their Catholic mission and conform to gender ideology by allowing biological males to play on girls’ sports teams and enter locker rooms,” he predicted.
