Things got heated between Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and the NCAA President Charlie Baker during a hearing Tuesday, in which the Missouri senator pressed Baker on his “indefensible” policy on allowing biological men into female sports.
The exchange happened when the senator grilled Baker on his comments to Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) when he said he was allowing transgender athletes to compete due to federal law. Hawley contended “there’s no federal law” on this matter, and pointed to Title IX as the law NCAA should be adhering to.
Upon pressing Baker to confirm there is no federal case requiring the NCAA to include biological men in female sports, Baker responded, “That’s pretty much” what had been decided, to which Hawley stopped him and told him, “Don’t say pretty much.”
“We’re talking about the law here, and you actively dissembled to Senator Kennedy just a second ago,” Hawley said. “It’s not true that the NCAA has been ordered by any court, number one. It’s not true that federal law requires you to include biological males. In fact, Title IX explicitly says, ‘No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be denied the benefits of any educational program or activity receiving federal assistance.’”
Sen. Josh Hawley: "No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological men in women's sports, right?"
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 17, 2024
NCAA President @CharlieBakerMA: "That's pretty much what they decided."
Hawley: "Don't say pretty much. We're talking about the law here." pic.twitter.com/JEE48Huzb1
Hawley then accused Baker of arguing that Title IX does not apply to the NCAA, which he described as “astounding” given how much funding it receives from the federal government. The senator then presented the NCAA president with information on multiple female sports teams forfeiting their games because they did not want to play against a team with a biological male athlete.
“This is your policy, which you will not defend, because frankly, it’s indefensible!” Hawley yelled. “Why are you, Mr. Baker, why are you allowing biological men to play in women’s sports?!”
Hawley also criticized Baker and the NCAA’s guidelines for allowing biological men to use female locker rooms, to which Baker argued the guidelines provide “optionalities” to all members of the public on using facilities such as locker rooms. This comment left the senator perplexed, questioning why Baker was pushing responsibility for these guidelines on locals.
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Footage of Hawley’s encounter with Baker was shared online by female sports activist and Outkick host Riley Gaines, who criticized the NCAA for “blaming others for your failures” and praising Hawley for “holding their feet to the fire.”
At the hands of NCAA leadership, my teammates & I had to strip down naked in front of a 6'4", fully intact, naked man.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) December 17, 2024
Read that again.
Where's the accountability @NCAA? Stop blaming others for your failures.
Thanks to @HawleyMO for holding their feet to the fire. https://t.co/EUN5u9MYaQ
It’s not the first time this month that Hawley’s hearing grillings have gone viral, as he spoke very harshly toward multiple airline executives on Dec. 4, slamming them for their leadership and how “nobody enjoys flying on your airlines.” He also criticized airlines such as Spirit and Frontier for “harassing customers” over luggage even after these travelers have “already paid.”