{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-calls-ncaa-protect-female-athletes-clarify-transgender-locker-room-policy/", "Hawley Calls on NCAA to Protect Female Athletes, Clarify Transgender Locker Room Policy", "2023-10-18", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President, former Governor Charlie Baker, following his recent testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Senator Hawley called on the NCAA to stand up for the basic safety of their student athletes and asked Governor Baker to explicitly define the NCAA\u2019s policy on transgender athletes\u2019 access to locker rooms.\n\n\u201cYesterday you testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on issues in collegiate athletics. Arguably none is more important than the safety of student athletes,\u201d wrote Senator Hawley. \u201cThat is why I asked you about Riley Gaines, and her Senate testimony earlier this year that the NCAA forced her and other female athletes both to accept a biological man in their locker room and to change alongside this person.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cWhen I asked you whether the forced inclusion of biological men in women\u2019s locker rooms remains NCAA policy, you equivocated. You testified that you \u2018[didn\u2019t] believe that policy would be the policy that we would use today.\u2019 But you declined to state what the NCAA\u2019s policy actually is. This is your chance. The NCAA has a troubled history of using student athletes for financial gain while ignoring their concerns and needs\u2014and in this case, their basic safety. The American public deserves honest answers.\u201d\n\nIn June, Senator Hawley questioned Riley Gaines about her experiences competing against a transgender athlete, and the trauma she and her teammates endured when their privacy was invaded by being forced to undress in front of a biological male. According to Gaines, an NCAA official told her Lia Thomas was allowed in the female locker room due to a rule change that made the facilities \u2018unisex.\u2019\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nOctober 18, 2023\n\nHon. Charlie Baker\n\nPresident\n\nNational Collegiate Athletic Association\n\n700 W. Washington Street\n\nP.O. Box 7110\n\nIndianapolis, IN 46206\n\nDear Governor Baker:\n\nYesterday you testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on issues in collegiate athletics. Arguably none is more important than the safety of student athletes. That is why I asked you about Riley Gaines, and her Senate testimony earlier this year that the NCAA forced her and other female athletes both to accept a biological man in their locker room and to change alongside this person. Ms. Gaines testified the NCAA made this decision without forewarning the female athletes, without asking for consent, and without obtaining consent of any kind. Worse still, Ms. Gaines and her teammates were allegedly warned that if they spoke in opposition to the NCAA\u2019s policy, they would face consequences.\n\nWhen I asked you whether the forced inclusion of biological men in women\u2019s locker rooms remains NCAA policy, you equivocated. You testified that you \u201c[didn\u2019t] believe that policy would be the policy that we would use today.\u201d But you declined to state what the NCAA\u2019s policy actually is.\n\nThis is your chance. The NCAA has a troubled history of using student athletes for financial gain while ignoring their concerns and needs\u2014and in this case, their basic safety. The American public deserves honest answers. Please provide comprehensive responses to the following questions:\n\nAs of today\u2014October 18, 2023\u2014what exactly is the NCAA\u2019s policy on transgender athletes\u2019 access to locker rooms? Please provide a comprehensive explanation.\n\nHas the NCAA or any of its designees or officials ever promulgated a policy, whether through official or unofficial channels, of making locker rooms unisex?\n\nIf not, has the NCAA conducted an investigation into why Ms. Gaines was informed in March 2022 that locker rooms would be treated as unisex spaces?\n\nIn addressing the issue of transgender competitors, the NCAA is apparently shifting toward a policy of deferring to the governing bodies of individual sports. Will the NCAA defer to the policies of individual sport governing bodies regarding locker rooms and other changing facilities?\n\nIf so, please provide a comprehensive explanation of how, from the NCAA\u2019s perspective, allowing biological men to access the locker rooms of female athletes would be consistent with the legal requirements of Title IX that men and women be offered equitable opportunities to participate in sports.\n\nWill the NCAA provide an apology to female student athletes who were required to share locker rooms and other intimate spaces with biological men?\n\nMs. Gaines has testified that female athletes have been threatened with consequences for publicly opposing the NCAA\u2019s approach to transgender athletes. Does the NCAA maintain or enforce a policy prohibiting public opposition to the league\u2019s policies on transgender athletes?\n\nHas the NCAA ever mandated, recommended, or otherwise advised that individuals opposing the league\u2019s policies on transgender athletes receive counseling or other educational interventions?\n\nI await your responses.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-calls-ncaa-protect-female-athletes-clarify-transgender-locker-room-policy/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8670361712574959, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}