Judge Denies Texas AG's Bid to Halt NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Over Trans Policy

A bid by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Tuesday to halt the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament has failed. 

A judge denied an immediate injunction to halt the tournament, after Paxton sued the NCAA over its transgender policy, alleging that the association was falsely advertising its event as a women's sporting event, given the NCAA's current policy on transgender participation. 

Paxton claims that the NCAA's recent adjustment of its transgender policy to comply with president Trump's directive doesn't go far enough. 

"It is an illusion of change designed to trick consumers into re-engaging with the NCAA," Paxton argued in a filing. 

In February, Paxton asked Judge Les Hatch for an injunction that would have forced the NCAA to "immediately begin screening the sex of student athletes" or drop terms like "women's" or "female" from the association's branding. 

Paxton's lawsuit alleges that the NCAA's new policy violates Trump's order because it acknowledges a transgender identity. Paxton also alleges that the NCAA's new policy contains "loopholes" that would allow a transgender athlete to change their birth certificate in order to participate. Paxton has proposed that the NCAA implement a genetic test that could accurately identify athletes who with the SRY gene located on the Y chromosome, but experts say even that test is not conclusive. 

"The policy allows, still, some wiggle room," Jonathan Saenz, an attorney for Texas Values, said. "We know, in many states, that you can change a birth certificate. Texas is not one of them, but what about athletes that come from other states to compete in Texas?"

President Trump has previously praised the NCAA's new policy, saying it complies with his order. 

In its filing the NCAA said that there is no proof that a transgender athlete will compete in the women's tournament. 

"The Trump administration has made clear that the new NCAA policy is consistent with the Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order," the association said in a statement Wednesday. "The NCAA is looking forward to another championship season getting underway for thousands of women student-athletes competing for national titles."

Hatch has not yet ruled on the case's merits, only denying Paxton's request for an immediate injunction. Had an immediate injunction been allowed, the tournament would have been halted.