North American Grappling Association revises its policy after tournament boycott, transgender fighters banned from competing against women
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA), the sporting body for mixed martial arts, has revised its policy regarding the transgender female athletes competing in the NAGA events.
A recent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, held on October 21, 2023, in Georgia, featured a few trans-gender athletes overbearing female athletes in the women's category. Most of the cisgender female athletes withdrew from competing in the event after observing many transgender athletes in the women's category.
After the female athletes renounced competing against the trans athletes, the organization released a statement announcing a revision in its policy regarding the transgender female athletes competing in the NAGA events. The organization stated that henceforth, only cisgender female athletes will compete in the women's category.
The organization further stated that transgender female athletes will have to compete in the men's category. The organization conveyed that the particular decision was taken to ensure fairness, inclusivity, and respect for all competitors within their events.
At the conclusion, it stated that if any trans athlete is observed in the women's category, they will be given a choice to compete in the men's division or will be refunded. The decision to revise the policy was taken after Corissa Griffith, a trans-identified male, competed in the women’s category and clinched four medals.
Two cisgender athletes were unaware that they were competing against transgender athletes in a North American Grappling Association tournament
The initial policy of the North American Grappling Association made it mandatory for the officials to inform cisgender females when they were competing against trans athletes. The particular policy was announced in September but the officials reportedly failed to enforce the regulations.
Jayden Alexander, who is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt, and Ansleigh Wilk, who is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, competed against trans athletes without any prior knowledge. They both fought against Cordelia Gregory, a trans athlete competing in the NAGA's events.
In an interview with Reduxx, Wilk mentioned that she was caught off guard as she stood on the mat, after seeing that she was competing against a trans athlete.
“I hadn’t been notified," she stated. "The only thing that brought it to my attention was my teammates. They kept asking me ‘are you fighting a man’ and I was honestly too focused on coaching the rest of the crew to really pay attention to my opponent,” Wilk added.