

Do officials say any transgender athletes are playing Nevada collegiate sports?
No.

Lynda King, associate general counsel of the Nevada System of Higher Education, said in an April 24 meeting that she was aware of no transgender athletes in collegiate sports in Nevada.
Spokesperson Tony Allen confirmed that King’s comment was accurate for UNLV. UNR spokesperson Aaron Juarez said such information could not be released for the university under federal privacy laws.
The question has arisen as the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to ban trans athletes in women’s sports and Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony created a task force to protect women’s sports.
According to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, it’s unlikely transgender athletes make up more than 1.3 percent of the college athlete participation. Only 1.3 percent of young adults from 18-24 years old identify as transgender.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Nevada Independent partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- Nevada Board of Regents Special Meeting & Workforce Committee: 4/24/25
- UCLA School of Law Williams Institute The Impact of Transgender Sports Participation Bans on Transgender People in the US
- UCLA School of Law Williams Institute How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States?
- UNR Email
- UNLV Email
It’s up to all of us to spread the truth.
Nevada lawmakers will be in session until June, and the fate of the bills they are debating will hinge in large part on the quality of the facts they’re working with.
Do free school lunches increase food waste? Do red flag laws reduce suicide rates? Does universal pre-K boost the economy?
We want to bring independent, rigorous fact checks to inform the public and policymakers on these crucial questions. We’re doing it through briefs that clearly answer a question with a yes or no in 150 words or less.
The Nevada Independent is always on the lookout for claims that could use a fact check. But we could use your eyes and ears too. If you're on social media or consuming news and come across a statement that raises questions for you — let us know.
In the meantime, if you think this work is important, please show your support by making a donation of any amount today. Your contributions help us devote more reporters and editors to finding and checking claims, ensuring that Nevadans have the best information possible during this important time in our state’s history.