Indiana looks to expand the ban on trans athletes

Indiana is one out of the 25 states that has a law banning transgender athletes. Photo courtesy of IndyStar.

DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | STAFF REPORTER | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu

Indiana’s House Bill 1041 — passed in 2022 to ban K-12 transgender girls from girls’ sports teams — was reintroduced by lawmakers in early January to include collegiate athletes. If passed again, the bill will apply to both state and private institutions.

The bill will also require colleges to categorize their teams as either female, male or coeducational. It will instruct out-of-state schools to notify Indiana schools 60 days in advance of a matchup if they allow any assigned male-at-birth athletes on their team. 

The proposed legislation was authored by the same representative who drafted the 2022 bill, Representative Michelle Davis (R). The 2022 bill passed through the State House’s Republican-majority chambers, but was vetoed by former Governor Eric Holcomb. The veto was overturned by the chambers’ majority votes.

Indiana’s House of Representatives still has a Republican majority of 70-30 and a 40-10 Republican majority in the Senate.

Vanessa Little, a junior political science and strategic communication double major, discussed the similar legislature in 2022 as well as new Governor Mike Braun’s agenda. 

“I think this bill goes along with the administration that Governor Braun is pushing,” Little said. “Looking at the many DEI programs he has rolled back on in Indiana along with the overwhelming Republican majority, it does look like this bill will pass. Though, it might be a little tougher than a K-12 ban since Indiana has some big schools and holds the NCAA headquarters.”

However, Ann Savage, a critical communication and media studies professor, foresees universities and schools complying with the law.

“It depends on the leadership of the universities,” Savage said. “We see corporations and universities depend on federal money to exist, and particularly state schools like IU and Purdue. So, corporations have caved in before and will probably feel pressured to just follow orders.”

Butler — along with over 1000 other colleges — follows the NCAA’s policy on transgender athletes. This policy grants requirements of participation eligibility to the governing body of the specific sport but most trans athletes — usually always trans women athletes — have to submit documentation of “sport-specific” testosterone levels at the start of and six months into the season. 

Even with this policy in place, protesters — who argue that biological advantages still prevail for trans women athletes after hormonal treatment — gathered at the NCAA’s annual convention on Jan. 15 to urge the association to establish a complete ban on transgender athletes from women’s sports. 

NCAA president Charlie Baker said at the convention that the association is open to receiving federal guidance before possibly adjusting its policies on the matter.

With the NCAA’s position in establishing athletic policies, junior political science major Dylan Noble finds the government’s involvement in the issue to be unnecessary. 

“In what other context does the government come in and try to make rules surrounding a sport?” Noble said. “That is ridiculous. We can for sure have a conversation about whether assigned male-at-birth people should compete in women’s sports, but for the government to come in and say it is illegal for you to participate in this sport — I think that’s discriminatory and a bad path to go down.”

Currently, 25 states have a law in place banning transgender students from participating in the sport that aligns with their gender identity. However, not all of these states have extended their ban to the collegiate level. 

The United States House of Representatives also passed a bill on Jan. 14 to ban trans athletes from women’s sports, which now awaits Senate approval. This bill is similar to the Protection of Women and Girls Act of 2023, which did not advance past the Democrat-majority Senate. This time around, Republicans hold the Senate majority.

When looking at this issue, Little believes it is a difficult topic for the government to deal with.

“I feel like it really depends on the scenario,” Little said. “Obviously, it would be sad if someone could not play what they wanted just because they identify differently, but it is a hard situation.”

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