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SPORTS Tuesday 9 april 2024
NAIA all but bans transgender athletes from women’s sports

By ERIC OLSON hance fairness in compe-
AP Sports Writer tition. Instead, they send
The National Association of a message of exclusion
Intercollegiate Athletics an- and reinforce dangerous
nounced a policy Monday stereotypes that harm all
that all but bans transgen- women.”
der athletes from compet- Last month, more than a
ing in women’s sports at its dozen current and former
241 mostly small colleges college athletes filed a
across the country. federal lawsuit against the
The NAIA Council of Presi- NCAA, accusing the sports
dents approved the policy governing body for more
in a 20-0 vote at its annual than 500,000 athletes of
convention in Kansas City, violating their rights by al-
Missouri. The NAIA, which lowing transgender women
oversees some 83,000 ath- to compete in women’s
letes competing in more sports.
than 25 sports, is believed Hours after the NAIA an-
to be the first college sports nouncement, the NCAA re-
organization to take such a leased a statement: “Col-
step. lege sports are the premier
According to the transgen- stage for women’s sports in
der participation policy, all America and the NCAA will
athletes may participate Freed-Hardeman guard Quan Lax wears the championship banner after the NAIA men’s national continue to promote Title
in NAIA-sponsored male championship college basketball game against Langston, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Kansas IX, make unprecedented
sports but only athletes City, Mo. investments in women’s
whose biological sex as- Associated Press sports and ensure fair com-
signed at birth is female female participants,” the lege levels, though it is be- a statement to The Associ- petition for all student-ath-
and have not begun hor- NAIA said. “Each NAIA lieved to be small. The top- ated Press. letes in all NCAA champi-
mone therapy will be al- sport includes some com- ic has nonetheless become Shiwali Patel, senior counsel onships.”
lowed participate in wom- bination of strength, speed a hot-button issue among at the National Women’s At least 24 states have laws
en’s sports. and stamina, providing conservative groups and Law Center, said her orga- barring transgender wom-
A student who has begun competitive advantages others who believe trans- nization was outraged by en and girls from compet-
hormone therapy may par- for male student-athletes. gender athletes should not the NAIA policy. ing in certain women’s or
ticipate in activities such As a result, the NAIA policy be allowed to compete on “This is unacceptable and girls sports competitions.
as workouts, practices and for transgender student- girls’ and women’s sports blatant discrimination that The Biden administration
team activities, but not in athletes applies to all sports teams. not only harms trans, nonbi- originally planned to re-
interscholastic competi- except for competitive “The NAIA understands that nary and intersex individu- lease a new federal Title IX
tion. cheer and competitive legal action being taken to als, but limits the potential rule the law forbids discrim-
“With the exception of dance, which are open to challenge the policy is a of all athletes,” Patel said in ination based on sex in ed-
competitive cheer and all students.” possibility, but this policy is a statement. ucation addressing both
competitive dance, the There is no known number one our membership and “It’s important to recog- campus sexual assault and
NAIA created separate of transgender athletes at board felt like was the right nize that these discrimi- transgender athletes. q
categories for male and the high school and col- decision,” the NAIA said in natory policies don’t en-

Novak Djokovic eclipses Roger Federer’s record for oldest man

ranked No. 1 in tennis

LONDON (AP) — Novak singles titles also are the Goran Ivanisevic.
Djokovic has surpassed an- most by a man in tennis his- He has held onto No. 1
other tennis record once tory and the most by any- since returning there most
held by Roger Federer, be- one in the Open era, which recently last September af-
coming the oldest man to began in 1968. Federer ter winning the U.S. Open.
be ranked No. 1 in the ATP broke Pete Sampras’ men’s Australian Open champion
Tour’s computerized rank- record of 14 major champi- Jannik Sinner remained at
ings. onships and retired with 20, No. 2 in Monday’s rankings,
Djokovic is 36 he turns 37 before Rafael Nadal (now followed by Carlos Alcaraz,
next month and is now old- with 22) and Djokovic over- Daniil Medvedev and Al-
er than Federer was on his took him. exander Zverev, all in the
last day atop the rankings Djokovic is entered this same places as a week
in June 2018. Monday gives week in the Monte Carlo ago.
Djokovic 420 total weeks at Masters clay-court tourna- There was no movement in
that spot, extending anoth- ment as he prepares to de- the WTA women’s top five,
er mark Federer (who was fend his title at the French either, with Iga Swiatek at Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic smiles during a press
there for 310 weeks) had at Open, where play begins No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka at conference after the screening of the documentary film about
Croatian tennis legend Niki Pilic, former tennis player and former
one time before Djokovic on May 26. It will be Djokov- No. 2 and Coco Gauff, Ele- trainer of Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, in
broke it. ic’s first competitive action na Rybakina and Jessica Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, March 28, 2024.
Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam since he split from coach Pegula next.q Associated Press