The NCAA has named host sites for the association’s softball postseason in three states that have passed laws requiring athletes to compete in interscholastic sports according to their sex at birth.
Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee will each host postseason games and all three have passed legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in interscholastic sports.
Proponents of bans on transgender athletes argue that athletes who are born male have physiological advantages over those who are born female. Meanwhile opponents of the legislation believe the laws are discriminatory and part of a backlash by cultural conservatives against transgender people.
The NCAA currently allows transgender women to compete if they have taken hormone suppressing drugs for at least one year prior to competition.
The NCAA Board of Governors issued a statement last month saying it "firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports," according to ESPN. The statement also warned that future hosting of NCAA events could be affected by state laws.
"When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected," the board said. "We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants."
