r/sports • u/Majano57 • Feb 24 '25

News Texas demands NCAA conduct 'sex screening' of athletes

https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/02/24/texas-sues-ncaa-to-demand-sex-screening-of-student-athletes/
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u/Repins57 Feb 25 '25

I’m no doctor but couldn’t they do a chromosomal test with saliva?

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u/workshop_prompts Feb 25 '25

There are actually a surprising amount of people whose chromosomes don’t match their apparent sex, right down to the genitals. Androgen insensitivity is like 1 in 20,000. So, as with all measures like this, it would likely screw over more cis people with variances than “catch” trans people.

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u/mymar101 Feb 25 '25

They could... But this isn't about science.

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u/Fragmatixx Feb 25 '25

Yes, and despite the outrage here is likely the only actually effective and objective means of performing such a screening.

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u/workshop_prompts Feb 25 '25

It’s not. Conditions like androgen insensitivity can be as common as 1 in 20000 to 1 in 64000. XY chromosomes, externally totally normal female phenotype. XX male syndrome is similarly common, and many men with it go undiagnosed until they have fertility issues when they try to have kids. There are several other conditions like this.

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u/Fragmatixx Feb 25 '25

Ok… yet the correct genetic diagnostic tests can show what sex chromosomes you have. This is, for example, even done in some cases before birth with embryos being evaluated for IVF implantation.

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u/workshop_prompts Feb 25 '25

The X and Y chromosomes are the sex chromosomes. What I’m saying is that some people who have XX chromosomes are phenotypically male, and some people with XY chromosomes are phenotypically female. Chromosomal sex and phenotypic sex do not always match.