What’s Happening at SFA is a Warning for All of Texas Sports

By LONNIE KING  |  © 2025 Big Daddy’s Texas Sports

We like to think of sports as a safe haven—where competition, teamwork, and passion can play out far from the noise of political bickering. But every now and then, politics comes crashing through the stadium gates. And when it does, the fallout isn’t just theoretical—it hits athletes, coaches, families, and communities where it hurts.

What’s happening right now at Stephen F. Austin State University is a prime example.

SFA is now the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit filed by Arthur Bryant and Bailey Glasser LLP for allegedly violating Title IX.

The claim?

That SFA cut three women’s sports—beach volleyball, women’s golf, and tennis—while keeping a nearly 60/40 male-to-female ratio in athletic participation. According to the complaint, SFA is providing significantly fewer athletic opportunities to women than it legally should.

The lawsuit argues that the university could’ve achieved the necessary gender balance by simply trimming excess roster sizes on men’s teams. Instead, it eliminated women’s programs altogether—programs that were competitive and thriving.

This didn’t happen in a vacuum and you can’t talk about this without mentioning the broader context.

In recent years, Texas politicians have injected themselves deeper into the governance of sports, particularly around gender and participation.

Lawmakers have introduced and passed bills aimed at banning transgender athletes from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity.

But here’s what often gets overlooked: when you try to legislate identity under the banner of “protecting fairness,” you can end up doing real harm to the very institutions and athletes you claim to support.

In this case, instead of achieving fairness, the result has been less opportunity—especially for women.

SFA isn’t alone. Several school districts across Texas have started reevaluating certain girls’ sports programs in response to fear, confusion, or perceived liability under recent laws. That’s the ripple effect of politics run amok.

When lawmakers craft sports policy without input from educators, athletic directors, or Title IX experts, bad decisions follow. And student-athletes who only get one shot at a high school or college career are the ones who pay the price.

But why does this matter?

Sports aren’t just extracurricular activities. For many athletes, they’re a gateway to college scholarships, lifelong friendships, personal growth, and leadership skills.

When those opportunities are slashed due to political posturing or institutional neglect, it’s not just a Title IX issue—it’s a moral one.

As a lifelong follower of Texas sports, I don’t like writing stories like this.

But I care too much about the players, the coaches, and the communities to stay quiet.

We need to hold our institutions accountable—not just when lawsuits are filed, but when the first signs of imbalance emerge. And we need lawmakers to recognize that their actions don’t exist in a silo.

When the political world tries to take the wheel of the sports world, too often everyone ends up in the ditch. Let’s make sure we’re building a Texas where opportunity in sports isn’t dictated by politics, but by passion, equity, and fairness.