Over 400 former and current collegiate, professional and Olympic athletes urged the NCAA to not ban transgender athletes from women’s college sports, according to a letter sent out on Tuesday.
“We implore you, the NCAA’s highest governing body and members of an organization focused on supporting the wellbeing of not just athletes but sport itself, to focus on the long-documented needs of NCAA athletes of all genders,” the letter said. “We implore you to focus efforts on developing policies driven by research, education, collaboration, and policy to promote a healthy and safe environment for all athletes, NOT discriminatory attempts to sideline an entire group of athletes from the sports they love.”
The letter was signed by former NFL defensive end R.K. Russell, former Minnesota Vikings’ fullback Johnny Stanton, former WNBA basketball star Sue Bird and U.S. Women’s National Team soccer co-captain Megan Rapinoe.
