LUBBOCK, Texas: The Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, wants the NCAA to strengthen its transgender athlete policy by requiring gender testing for athletes competing in women's sports.

In December, Paxton filed a lawsuit in state court and added a request on February 20 for a court order to enforce gender screening and stop the NCAA from claiming that only biological women can compete in female-only competitions.

Earlier this month, the NCAA updated its policy to limit participation in women's sports to those assigned female at birth. This change came shortly after former President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports.

Paxton believes the NCAA's policy doesn't go far enough since it doesn't have a system to check athletes' biological sex. His lawsuit claims that, without screening, biological men could continue to compete in women's sports without being noticed.

Critics argue that allowing transgender athletes in women's sports is unfair and could pose safety risks. However, the NCAA says there are very few transgender athletes—only about 10 out of over 500,000.

Under the NCAA's new policy, athletes assigned male at birth can practice with women's teams and access benefits like medical care. Athletes assigned female at birth who start hormone therapy can practice with a women's team but cannot compete without risking the team's eligibility for championships.

Paxton also claims that the NCAA leaves room for biological men to change their birth records and join women's sports, a claim the NCAA denies. The organization says that no athlete assigned male at birth can compete on a women's team, even with changed identification documents.

The lawsuit also mentions World Athletics' recent announcement that gender testing could return for track and field athletes, a practice largely stopped in the 1990s. These tests can often be done with a simple cheek swab.