A Nevada college oversight leader is facing calls to resign after referring to trans athletes as ‘men masquerading as women.’
Patrick Boylan has been slammed for making the comments during a meeting of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents on Friday.
He said he had ‘one simple question’ for the athletic directors who were presenting to the board before asking, ‘Do we have any men masquerading as women playing in any of our teams and hurting any of the women?’
The question was shutdown by board attorney Michael Wixom, who advised it was against federal privacy laws to collate and disclose that information. He cautioned the directors not to respond and said any question would need to be brought on a separate agenda.
Boylan’s remarks were also blasted by The Nevada Faculty Alliance which said it was, ‘deeply angered by repeated anti-transgender comments’.
Patrick Boylan is facing calls to resign after referring to trans athletes as ‘men masquerading as women’
The alliance said it was ‘especially appalled’ by the regent’s ‘aggressive response’ to a student leader who upbraided his remarks in the public comment section of the meeting.
Boylan told the student he had freedom of speech and continued to make inflammatory remarks.
‘If he has not had his ‘you know what’ cut off or anything, he’s still a man,’ Boylan said.
The regent appeared to recognize his question could be controversial, double checking that he had the chair’s permission to pose it before asking.
In the public comment section Kevin Osorio-Hernández, president of the Nevada State Student Alliance, told Boylan he was disappointed by the rhetoric and that he hopes he can ‘expand and change your paradigm’.
But Boylan has stood by his position and confirmed to the Las Vegas Review that he has no plans to step down.
He asserted that ‘safety and freedom of speech’ are more important than the feelings of the NFA, which he said had ‘totally misconstrued’ his comments.
He insisted he was doing the right thing by talking about women’s safety in sport and claimed to have been confused about the proper way to refer to trans people.
The Nevada Faculty Alliance, headed by president Jim New, is now calling for his resignation over the remarks
The NFA said it was, ‘deeply angered by repeated anti-transgender comments’
The regent defended his position and maintains he was just trying to speak up for women in sport
‘If I used the wrong terms, then OK,’ he said, adding that he had received emails of support since the meeting.
‘They’re tired of all of this woke nonsense,’ he said. Boylan also told the outlet he believes trans athletes should get to compete in their own separate category.
On Tuesday NSHE Chancellor Patricia Charlton sent out a letter reminding community members of the importance of ‘being mindful of our language’ and the community’s commitment to, ‘fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment’.
The NFA argues that Boylan’s conduct goes against the board’s anti-discrimination policy.
‘In the March 1 meeting, Regent Boylan also questioned the qualifications of students from underrepresented minority groups,’ their statement added.
‘These are not isolated incidents. Regent Boylan has a history of racist and discriminatory remarks that have been condemned by a number of Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) students, including the Senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada.’
In 2022, Boylan suggested that white students were being ignored during questions around the federal designation of Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Boylan questioned why NSHE doesn’t serve students of all ethnicities.
Boylan asked athletic directors presenting to the board, ‘Do we have any men masquerading as women playing in any of our teams and hurting any of the women?’
The question was shutdown by board attorney Michael Wixom, who advised it was against federal privacy laws to collate and disclose information on trans athletes
‘We have Black students, we have colored students’ and ‘white students are invisible,’ he said during the meeting before asking if NSHE is interested in white students ‘or do we just say, “Screw them?”‘ he added.
Silver State Equality, Nevada’s LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, backed calls for Boylan’s resignation.
‘Mr. Boylan’s comments not only directly attacked members of the LGBTQ+ community, creating an unsafe atmosphere of exclusion, but also violated the board’s own anti-discrimination resolution adopted in 2022,’ it said in a statement.
‘While we praise the Board of Regents’ public response reaffirming its commitment “to fostering an environment of inclusivity and respect for all individuals within the Nevada System of Higher Education,” they have yet to take action to remove Mr. Boylan from the board.
‘Our system of higher education, the students it serves, and the faculty and staff who help create an environment where all individuals feel valued and supported deserve better than Mr. Boylan.’
However not everyone is supportive of the calls for his resignation.
Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks came to Boylan’s defense, saying he was being asked to step down, ‘for stating that a man is a man’.
Silver State Equality, Nevada’s LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, backed calls for Boylan’s resignation
Not everyone has supported the calls for Boylan to resign over the controversy
‘Multiple reasons to be concerned here,’ he wrote on X. ‘First, these higher education professors are unwilling to acknowledge biological reality.
‘Second, the same people who talk about inclusivity and the need to respect others have no tolerance for someone who disagrees with them. So much for diversity of thought and free speech.
‘Third, these faculty members (and the Regents who support them) are proactively shutting down debate. The transgender issues hinges on how you define man and woman.
‘You can’t have a debate when one side is forced to adopt the false rhetorical assumptions of its opponents.’
While another commentator said: ‘I understand their desire to be recognized as the gender that matches their psyche. I support them within reason.
‘But I won’t agree with letting biological males into women’s amateur sports in high schools and colleges, not after the decades long fight to fund those programs.’