Washington, DC, Dec. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEDIA ALERT
ICONS Fact Check of NCAA President Charlie Baker’s Alarming and False Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee
The Independent Council on Women’s Sport (ICONS) is calling out NCAA President Charlie Baker for his false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 17, 2024, NCAA President Charlie Baker repeatedly lied and gaslighted the Committee, falsely claiming that the federal courts have upheld the NCAA’s malicious and discriminatory policies which allow men to take women’s places and enter women’s locker rooms in college sports.
ICONS Co-founder Kim Jones said, “The NCAA and President Charlie Baker are failing women while misleading the U.S. Senate and the American public. Yesterday, Baker repeatedly lied to the Senate, as the NCAA continues sacrificing fair competition and safety in women’s college sports for profit and ideology. His false testimony confirms what his inaction has made clear for the past two years: the NCAA prioritizes revenue and power over truth, fairness, and the protection of female athletes.”
Below is a summary of questions asked by the U.S. Senators John Kennedy (Louisiana) and Josh Hawley (Missouri) and NCAA President Baker’s factually false responses during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
NCAA President Charlie Baker twice misleadingly and falsely testified that when it comes to men competing in women’s sports the NCAA’s hands have been tied by the rulings of federal court judges!
Senator Kennedy asked the question first –
Senator Kennedy: Why does the NCAA, why do you, your job is to promote fairness in collegiate sports, why do you support allowing transgender women, who are biological males, to compete against non-transgender biological females?
Charlie Baker: Over the course of the past two years, five federal court cases involving this question, let me finish, five federal judges have all sided with participation as the standard.
ICONS Fact Check: NCAA President Charlie Baker’s answer is a half-truth at best. Over the past two years, no federal judges have specifically ruled on the legality of the NCAA’s transgender eligibility policies. There are federal judges that have upheld laws banning men from women’s sports. The NCAA is choosing to defend men in women’s sports. They are choosing to abandon women when they could be fighting for women.
When Senator Hawley repeated the question Charlie Baker doubled down on his false testimony –
Senator Hawley: Did you say that federal law requires the NCAA to permit biological men to play in women’s sports?
Charlie Baker: I said there have been five cases in federal court in the past 18 months and in all five of them the federal judges sided with participation.
ICONS Fact Check: NCAA President Charlie Baker’s answer is false. Over the past two years there have been no federal judges who have ruled on the legality of the NCAA’s transgender eligibility policies. There have been several federal judges who have upheld rules preventing men from competing in women's sports and stopped interpretation of Title IX that would allow men to access women’s protections under that law.
When Senator Hawley called NCAA President Baker on his untruthful testimony, Baker lied yet again –
Senator Hawley: No federal court has ordered the NCAA to include biological men in women’s sports, right? There is not a single case that has ordered the NCAA to do so, correct?
Charlie Baker: That is pretty much what they decided in the San Jose State case.
ICONS Fact Check: NCAA President Charlie Baker lied for the third time to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Contrary to his testimony, the NCAA is not a party and the judge did not rule on the Mountain West Conference policy that allowed a male athlete to play. The only decision made so far by the district court judge was denying an emergency motion to block the Mountain West Conference’s policy before the start of the MWC volleyball tournament—solely because the lawsuit was filed just two weeks before the tournament, not on the merits of the case itself.
On emergency appeal, a panel of Tenth Circuit judges agreed with the timing issue but noted that the plaintiffs’ legal challenge “appears to present a substantial question and may have merit.” The judge has signaled the female athletes do have grounds to challenge the Mountain West policy and San Jose State.
Despite this, Charlie Baker falsely testified that a federal court ordered the NCAA to include men in women’s sports—a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. Again, the NCAA is not compelled to support men in women’s sports, they are choosing to abandon women. The NCAA is forcing women to hand over their opportunities and titles to men and to undress in locker rooms with men. They do not have to do this; they are choosing to hurt women.
ICONS is exclusively backing and supporting female athletes in two groundbreaking lawsuits against the NCAA and Mountain West Conference. The non-profit women’s organization is supported by world-class athletes, parents, internationally renowned scientists, doctors and health care experts, as well as lawyers, advocacy groups, and women’s organizations. You can learn more about ICONS and get involved at www.iconswomen.com.
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Marshi Smith Independent Council on Women's Sports 702-323-4516 marshismith@iconswomen.com
