Leading Grappling Association Changes Policy on Transgender Athletes

Late last month the North American Grappling Association revised its policy to clarify that male athletes must compete in the association’s men’s grappling division — even if the athlete identifies as female.

The North American Grappling Association is the largest submission MMA and jiu-jitsu association in the world. The new policy states,

We will have divisions for only biological females. Transgender females [biological males who identify as female] will not be entered into these divisions. . . .

Transgender females must compete in the men’s division. We hope that the simplicity of this revised policy will help to avoid any future occurrences where transgender females enter women divisions. If NAGA staff is informed that a transgender female is in a women’s division, they will be given the choice to go to the men’s division or given a refund.

In recent years we have seen men dominate women’s sports as a result of pro-transgender policies that let biological males compete against female athletes. 

For example, in 2019 Rachel McKinnon — a biological male who claims to be female — won the female Cycling World Championship.

More recently, biologically male athlete Lia Thomas shattered women’s swimming records and was even nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Female powerlifter April Hutchinson reportedly faces a two-year ban from the Canadian Powerlifting Union for expressing concerns about males dominating against female athletes in powerlifting events.

Letting men compete in women’s sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases women’s athletics.

It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.

Public opinion polling shows Americans increasingly believe athletes ought to compete according to their biological sex instead of their gender identity.

In June pollsters at Gallup reported 69% of Americans believe athletes should compete based on their biological sex. That’s up from 62% in 2021. Despite public opinion and the mounting evidence that biological males are effectively erasing women’s sports, President Biden’s Secretary of Education recently reiterated that the administration believes transgender athletes should  be able to compete in whatever sport they choose.

All of this underscores that Arkansas did the right thing by passing legislation to protect fairness in women’s sports.

Act 461 of 2021 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) helps protect fairness in women’s sports by preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. In January a federal district court upheld a similar law in West Virginia as constitutional.

Laws like Act 461 help protect athletes’ safety and preserve fairness in competitions.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.