Led by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, the letter signed by nine governors warns that “remarkable female athletes” are at risk of being dominated in collegiate sports by “average male athletes.”
One of the governors who signed the letter is Tate Reeves of Mississippi. He told American Family Radio that Mississippi currently has a law that stipulates biological males must play on all-male sports teams and cannot participate on all-female teams.
"That's a law in Mississippi and I think that is a law we ought to pass in every state in this country," Reeves, who is seeking re-election Nov. 7, said.
In September, Reeves traveled the state with college-athletes-turned-activists Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan to demand Title IX legal rights for female athletes and also basic safety and privacy protections, too.
"They had a six-foot, four-inch male changing clothes in the dressing room," said Reeves, referring to University of Pennsylvania swimmer Will Thomas.
Thomas, who says he is a woman named Lia, competed against Gaines and other female athletes in Division 1 swimming as a senior athlete. He went on to win a national title in the 500-yard freestyle, robbing the top spot from second-place competitor Emma Weyant.
Thomas (pictured at right) was on the same UPenn swim team as Scanlan, who was forced to dress and shower with Thomas.
"It is amazing to me,” Reeves said in the radio interview, “that we even have to have these conversations in 2023."
The governors addressed their joint letter to Charlie Baker, the current NCAA president and the former Republican governor of Massachusetts.
Other state governors urging the NCAA to take action are Sarah Sanders (R-Arkansas); Mike Parsons (R-Missouri); Greg Gianforte (R-Montana); Joe Lombardo (R-Nevada); Kevin Stitt (R-Oklahoma); Gregg Abbott (R-Texas); and Mark Gordon (R-Wyoming).
