Texas sues NCAA, calls for 'sex screening' of athletes

LUBBOCK COUNTY, Texas - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit against the NCAA, this time over its revised policy on transgender athletes in women's sports.

What we know:

Paxton's latest move against the NCAA calls for the governing body to require a "sex screening" of student-athletes.

The filing is a response to an amended transgender eligibility policy that the NCAA released on Feb. 6, 2025, in response to President Donald Trump's executive order banning biological men from competing in women's sports.

The updated policy from the NCAA states that a student-athlete assigned male at birth is not eligible to compete on a women's team. That player can still practice with the team and receive other benefits.

While the NCAA believes they are now in compliance with Trump's order, Paxton said that's not the case and the language doesn't match the Trump administration language that identifies sex at conception.

Paxton argues that the majority of states allow the sex on a person's birth certificate to be changed, which can still lead to violations by college sports teams.

The argument raised by Paxton and the state is that it allows the NCAA to engage in deceptive business practices.

What they're saying:

"In spite of the Amended TEP and the NCAA’s representations that it has brought itself into alignment with President Trump’s ‘clear, national standard,’ the NCAA has allowed, and will continue to allow, biological men to compete in ‘women’s’ sports categories through two principal avenues: (1) the NCAA’s decision not to screen the sex of student-athletes, and (2) the NCAA’s reliance on sex ‘assign[ments]’ as determined by birth records," court records state.

The NCAA provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the criticisms and insisting that amended birth certificates will not be accepted. 

"The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID," the statement read. "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."

Currently, only six states do not allow the gender on a birth certificate to be changed: Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Montana, Kansas and Florida.

Of the ones that do allow a birth certificate to be changed, 14 states do not require any medical documentation to make the change.

What we don't know:

The state is asking for a temporary injunction, but it is unclear when the court might rule on it.

In court documents, the state argues that the current NCAA rules would have a negative impact on the NCAA women's basketball tournament, which Paxton says is looking to have five Texas teams in the field.

The women's NCAA tournament begins on March 19.