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NCAA backing transgender athlete participation could impact Arkansas

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NCAA headquarters.
NCAA headquarters. (Getty)

The NCAA Board of Governors released a statement of support for transgender sports participation Monday afternoon, stating they will only consider holding championship events in locations that “commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

The statement comes in the aftermath of several states, including Arkansas, signing new laws and many more considering similar action to restrict participation. The NCAA has not, however, made any official decisions yet regarding the sites of its future championship events.

Last week, the Arkansas state legislature passed a law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors and last month, the governor signed a law banning transgender females from competition, so the NCAA’s statement led to speculation that it might not allow the Razorbacks to host postseason tournaments - including in baseball and softball.

“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 NCAA statement read. “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.”

When reached by HawgBeat for comment, an NCAA representative clarified that the Board of Governors is just monitoring the situation and has not yet made a decision to ban states from hosting championships.

Such a move would not be unprecedented by the NCAA. Last summer, the Board of Governors expanded its ban to include all championship events - rather than just those determined in advance of a tournament - in states that displayed the Confederate flag.

That would have prevented schools in Mississippi - such as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss - from hosting regionals or super regionals in baseball, but it never came to that because voters in the state decided to replace the flag less than five months later.

If the NCAA makes a similar move, it would have a significant impact on Arkansas, as it has the consensus No. 1 team in college baseball and a top-10 team in softball - both of which are currently in first place in the SEC.

Arkansas has submitted bids to host regionals and super regionals in both baseball and softball, according to a UA spokesperson. No definitive dates have been set, but the NCAA has indicated it will select the sites for softball the week of April 26 and baseball the week of May 10. The UA is also slated to host NCAA events in track, gymnastics and golf in upcoming years.

It is far from the only school that could be impacted, though. Last month, Mississippi and Tennessee also passed laws that ban transgender athletes from participating in school sports that correlate with their gender identity.

Together, those three states - Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee - are home to teams ranked No. 1 (Arkansas), No. 2 (Vanderbilt), No. 3 (Tennessee), No. 4 (Mississippi State) and No. 6 (Ole Miss) in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.

According to the Transgender Law Center, there are 15 states with a negative gender identity policy tally and 13 of the current top 25 baseball teams play in those states. The USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll for softball will not be updated until Tuesday, but 14 of the top 25 teams in last week’s poll are located in those states, too.

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