Activists Join Transgender Groups in Urging NCAA to Boycott Idaho over Bill to Protect Female Athletes

LGBT activists and groups that support their agenda are urging the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to not allow sporting events to be held in Idaho, after lawmakers in that state passed a bill that limits female sports in high school and college to those who are biologically female.

Young female athletes’ dreams and accomplishments have been dashed across the country when competing against biological males who “identify” as females. Idaho is the first state to pass legislation to protect female athletes from unfair competition.

East Idaho News reported on the letter these groups sent to the NCAA:

The coalition argues that Idaho’s law “blatantly targets an already-marginalized community,” and runs contrary to the values of the NCAA, which governs collegiate athletics. Athletes argue that Idaho should be banned from hosting NCAA events as long as the law is in place.

“This is the time for the NCAA to stand on the right side of history and support the rights of all athletes in Idaho to compete in the sports they love,” reads a letter signed by more than 400 student athletes. “…With HB500 remaining law in Idaho, it is impossible for the NCAA to host events that are inclusive and safe for all athletes.”

The letters specifically ask the NCAA to move the first and second rounds of the 2021 Men’s Division I Basketball Championship games away from Boise State University, as first reported by Sports Illustrated on Wednesday morning.

Civil rights groups sued the state just two weeks after Gov. Brad Little signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, a federal law that opponents also claim protects female athletes from sexual discrimination.

The NCAA has previously stripped states of championship games to push back against legislation like that passed in Idaho. 

“The organization removed games from North Carolina in 2016-2017 after that state passed a bill requiring transgender people to use the bathrooms matching their sex at birth,” the East Idaho News reported. “The organization later allowed games to return when the bathroom bill was repealed.”

Billie Jean King and Megan Rapinoe signed the letter. Some of the organizations that signed the letter include the National Center for Transgender Equality, ACLU, National Women’s Law Center, American Association of University Women, and Center for American Progress.

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