Athletes around the nation are impacted through politics, taking away from the fun, carefree game of sports. According to UCLA’s School of Law, there are 13.9 million adults in the United States who identify as LGBTQ+.(williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/adult-lgbt-pop-us/) With the growing visibility of transgender athletes and the rise of LGBTQ+ acceptance, the need for correct, fair, and inclusive regulations by Charlie Baker and the NCAA to allow transgender women to fairly and safely participate in women's sports. However, the lack of data and the small number of data available proves that the regulations set by the NCAA for transgender women to participate in women's sports are not sufficient enough to balance inclusion and athletic integrity. That is why we need Charlie Baker and the NCAA to increase the time of testosterone therapy needed for transgender women to participate in women's sports or outright ban transgender women in women's athletics until there is more scientific proof of the effectiveness of hormonal suppression therapy.

Without action, there will continue to be a backlash against the NCAA as women athletes are at a disadvantage against transgender women. We see now schools refusing to participate in sporting matches against teams who have transgender women's players, even taking a forfeit to make a point. This issue takes away from the game on the court to the politics surrounding the NCAA. 

Just recently, the Ladies Professional Golf Association(LPGA) announced their new regulations, stating that “athletes who are assigned female at birth are eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and in all other elite LPGA competitions.”(www.lpga.com/news/2024/lpga-updates-gender-policy-for-competition-eligibility They even continued to explain that: “Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events.” (www.lpga.com/news/2024/lpga-updates-gender-policy-for-competition-eligibility That is why it is an important time for Charlie Baker and the NCAA to make a decision with the LPGA and protect women's sports until proficient scientific evidence proves a correct time of hormonal suppression therapy that eliminates athletic advantages over cisgender women.