The North American Grappling Association (NAGA), a martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu organization, has made revisions to its competition rules following concerns raised by female athletes who were assigned to compete against biologically male individuals who identify as transgender. This decision to modify the rules comes after several female martial artists stated that they had withdrawn from competitions due to apprehensions about facing male fighters and getting hurt.
Earlier this month, a trans-identifying competitor clinched four gold medals in a NAGA women’s Jiu-Jitsu competition in Georgia. The second-place contestant was also a biological man who identified as female.
Until recently, NAGA registrations only required participants to specify their gender as male or female. Because of this, biological male competitors who identify as female were claiming to be female on their registration forms and going unnoticed.
One competitor, Jayden Alexander, expressed in a report by the New York Post that she was left “devastated” and afraid after having to compete against a biological man.
“The simple fact of the matter is that men, signing up in a combat sport to fight women, is absolutely unacceptable,” Alexander said.
In response to the growing backlash and the need for clearer guidelines, NAGA has introduced a revised policy, stipulating that male-to-female transgender athletes who have undergone male puberty will be excluded from competing in the female division. The updated NAGA policy now states that “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’s divisions,” the policy states.
This policy change comes at a time when a growing number of male athletes are identifying as transgender to compete in women’s sports. The martial arts organization should be applauded for its efforts to protect real women and ensure that women have a safe place to compete and succeed.
