As a high-profile coach with strong convictions, LSU's Kim Mulkey often attracts difficult questions — and she was presented another at her Final Four news conference Thursday regarding the issue of transgender athletes in sports.
Mulkey said she had the conversation years ago with her athletic director at Baylor.
“I just think that I'm sensitive to those on one side, and yet I'm also sensitive to those on the other side,” she said. “Does that make sense? Is that a good, politically correct answer so I don't get in trouble?
“When this topic became apparent, when I was at Baylor, I had that conversation with the athletic director. So, I was kind of ahead of the curve. I had a conversation. ‘What if?’ I never got an answer. And I'll leave it at that. But I was very much aware. But I also want you to know that I have conversations with transgender people who don't believe that they should be competing against biological females, and I find that real interesting.
"So, you ask questions. You’re human. You want to hear sides of stories and come up with what you think, but at the end of the day, nobody cares what I think. Nobody cares, but thanks for asking that.”
The NCAA had previously allowed transgender women to participate in women’s sports if they had at least one year of testosterone suppression medication.
The issue turned into a politically charged debate in college athletics with the success of Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who won the NCAA championship in the 500-yard freestyle in 2021.
Last year, the NCAA adopted a new policy requiring the organization to determine the qualifications for college transgender athletes’ participation in each particular sport.
In June, the Louisiana state Legislature passed a bill barring transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports (Gov. John Bel Edwards let it become law without his signature).
Last week, the World Athletics Council, which governs international track and field, announced it would prohibit transgender women athletes from elite competitions for women.
On Wednesday in Texas, the state Senate approved a bill that would restrict which college sports teams transgender athletes can join.