South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley said trans-identifying players should be allowed to compete against women if they consider themselves to be women.
When asked directly if biological males should be able to compete against women, Staley responded affirmatively.
“If you’re a woman, you should play; if you consider yourself a woman, and you want to play sports, or vice-versa, you should be able to play,” Staley said. “That’s my opinion.”
Lady ballers assemble! https://t.co/EP0bxt4rv6
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 6, 2024
“That’s the question you want to ask, so I’ll give you that: Yes. Yes,” she said. “So now the barnstorm of people are going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the biggest days of our game, and I’m ok with that.”
Her comments sparked backlash from women’s sports advocates like Riley Gaines, who starred in the satirical film “Lady Ballers” lampooning men competing against women in basketball.
While not yet affecting Division I basketball, there have been instances of trans-identifying athletes competing against women in other sports and achieving records or wins.
This issue gained national attention in 2022 involving UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who previously competed as male but won a national title as a female against standout Emma Weyant.
The NCAA allows trans-identifying athletes to compete against their identified gender with certain testosterone level requirements.
