Nevada Regent facing calls for resignation, condemned by university president after raising concerns about men in women's sports
Regent Patrick Boylan asked at an NSHE Board meeting: ‘Do we have any men masquerading as women playing in any of our teams and hurting any of the women?’
Boylan's comments have triggered outrage in certain quarters, resulting in pressure on him to resign.
A Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) official recently triggered backlash for comments expressing opposition to men playing in women’s sports.
Patrick J. Boylan, who sits on the Board of Regents of the NSHE, spoke at a Board meeting earlier this March regarding sports at the state’s colleges and universities, asking: “Do we have any men masquerading as women playing in any of our teams and hurting any of the women?” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In response to a student’s criticism during the meeting, Boylan replied: “It doesn’t matter what race, sex, anything you are, there’s something known as the First Amendment, freedom of speech. I see it as a man masquerading as a woman. If he has not had his, you-know-what cut off or anything, he’s still a man. So I will say a man masquerading as a woman no matter what. That’s the way I see it, that’s the way I will say it. So if any of you think, like, fellow regents, and those students, that that will shut me up or keep me from saying things again, no, it won’t. I will speak the truth as I see the truth,” as reported by KTNV.
Speaking to KTNV, Boylan clarified his views: “It’s extremely dangerous for trans, well, the guys who are women or whatever they’re called, trans athletes, how easily they can hurt female athletes. And that was my concern, the safety and seeing that athletes be given the proper chance to be given the right, the right chance to win.”
In response to an inquiry from KTNV, he continued: “Of course I’m saying [men who identify as women are] not really women. They’re men. They want to go through physical changes, get surgery, get chemical treatment, but of course they’re not really women.”
Boylan’s statements have triggered opposition from some, with the Nevada Faculty Alliance calling for his resignation, alleging that he “directly attacked thousands of members of the NSHE community,” and claiming that his statements went against a previous board resolution, wrote the Las Vegas Sun.
Another regent, Heather Brown, began crying at the meeting and said: “Excuse me for being upset. I am tired of people treating people poorly because they feel they can. As Regents, we have to hold ourselves more accountable and I will do this for the board, even if I stand alone. And I know I don’t,” the Las Vegas Sun related.
Boylan refused to resign and stated he has received significant support from those who are “tired of all of this woke nonsense,” wrote the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
When reached out to for comment, Boylan shared with Campus Reform an email he had sent to supporters, stating: “I am not resigning and stand by concerns about the safety of our female athletes playing against transgender males. Special interest groups totally ignored the fact I was concerned about the safety of our female athletes playing against ‘transgender’ men (men masquerading as women) which was misconstrued to fit their interests. We cannot allow this ‘woke cancel’ culture to take away our freedoms slowly and steadily, especially not freedom of speech.”
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Brian Sandoval, President of the University of Nevada, Reno, published a press release on March 12 condemning Boylan’s statements, stating that “[d]uring a recent Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents meeting, extremely insensitive and hurtful comments were made about members of our trans and gender-diverse community,” and expressing his belief that Boylan’s statements prove the necessity of “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access” in higher education.
“More education is in order,” the press release continued.
When reached out to for comment, President Sandoval’s office referred Campus Reform to the press release mentioned above.
An NSHE official directed Campus Reform to a statement from NSHE Board of Regents Chair Amy J. Carvalho and Vice Chair Jeffrey S. Downs that stated: “public derogatory remarks directed at an individual or a class of individuals is inconsistent with the core values of our NSHE institutions . . . We want to take this opportunity to reassure all members of the NSHE community that the Board of Regents is dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access.”
Campus Reform has reached out to the Nevada Faculty Alliance for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
