Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) earned swift criticism after claiming Monday that women's sports will no longer exist if President Donald Trump doesn't stop transgender athletes.
"We're getting to a point now where women's and girls' sports are getting ready to be extinct," Tuberville told Fox News. "Because already in states across this country, we have high school teams that are made up of totally boys participating against girls."
NCAA president Charlie Baker testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December that out of 510,000 student-athletes, fewer than 10 were transgender. Numbers are not tracked for minors.
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Tuberville's eyebrow-raising comment drew fact-checks and outrage from critics on social media.
Laura Kirkpatrick, who typically covers the United Nations, said, "There are more cases of measles in Texas than trans athletes in the NCAA. Extinct how? USWNT players more recognizable than USMNT players."
She noted that more than 1 million people watched the WNBA finals. Meanwhile, girls' sports participation in the U.S. is up while boys' participation is down.
Lawyer Ike Devji commented, "Tommy Tuberville continues to have wild fantasies about the genitalia of children. There are 12 trans athletes in the entire godd--- NCAA to put his lie into perspective."
Lawyer Darius Amiri was similarly annoyed.
"None of this is true. Media needs to pushback when dips--- like Tuberville blatantly lie to the public," he said on X.
Former NCAA staffer David Pickle called out the senator as well.
"Two things here. First, Tommy Tuberville is lying. The number of transgender athletes is quite small, and the idea that the number will take a huge jump [is] nothing but xenophobic BS. Second, Tuberville does not give a damn about women's sports," he said.
"Where is this happening?" questioned Justin Baragona, senior reporter at The Independent, on Bluesky.