Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, seeking a temporary injunction to halt what he claims are “deceptive trade practices” as the organization’s athlete eligibility policy could allow men to compete in women’s sports.
Paxton alleges that the NCAA’s recently amended policy—presented as aligning with President Donald Trump’s executive order to “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports”—is actually a misleading “illusion of change” that still allows biological males to compete in women’s sports.
The legal move follows Paxton’s December 2024 lawsuit against the NCAA, which accused the organization of false advertising by promoting sporting events as exclusively “women’s” competitions while permitting biological males to participate.
According to the temporary injunction filing, the NCAA’s amended Transgender Eligibility Policy (TEP), effective February 6, 2025, is inconsistent with Trump’s executive order and does not prevent biological men from competing in women’s sports.
Paxton’s application for a temporary injunction highlights key areas of disagreement with the NCAA’s current policy:
- Definition of sex: The lawsuit states that the NCAA determines a student-athlete’s sex according to “birth records” and designations “assign[ed]” by doctors, rather than biological makeup “at conception.”
- Changeable vs. immutable: The suit alleges that the NCAA treats sex as changeable rather than an immutable characteristic.
The attorney general’s filing also raises concerns about the NCAA’s enforcement mechanisms, specifically pointing out the lack of sex-screening procedures for student-athletes.
Paxton argues that this absence allows biological males to “surreptitiously participate” in women’s sports categories, citing the example of Blair Fleming, a biological male who played on San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team for two years without initially disclosing his biological sex.
With the 2024-25 Women’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournament approaching, Paxton asserts that the NCAA’s deceptive practices are causing confusion among consumers and potentially harming female athletes.
Paxton is asking the court to order the NCAA to immediately begin screening the sex of student athletes and prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports categories.
“The NCAA’s sleight of hand is designed to intentionally deceive consumers into believing that biological men are no longer allowed to participate in women’s sports,” Paxton stated.
Far from aligning with President Trump’s executive order or basic reality, the NCAA’s new policy treats sex as a changeable characteristic determined by a birth certificate instead of biology. I am asking the court to enjoin the NCAA from continuing these deceptive schemes and protect women’s sports.
A spokesperson for the NCAA told Texas Scorecard, “The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and student-athletes assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID. Male practice players have been a staple in college sports for decades, particularly in women’s basketball and the Association will continue to account for that in the policy.”
