College courses and degree-seeking programs – which include such classes as "Diversity and Inclusion in Sports" – are raising concerns about whether higher education will produce a next generation of trained professionals like broadcast journalists and athletic directors who will continue to advocate for such issues as transgender athletes in girls' sport.

Among the schools with such programs are San Jose State University. 

The California school's Department of Kinesiology's Sports Studies program says it approaches sport "from a critical perspective that addresses issues of social identity, power, and agency,” and “trains students to “identify and analyze ways that sport and exercise can produce, reproduce, or contest social inequities to potentially affect positive social change.”

The school attracted national attention over such issues in 2024 regarding transgender athlete Blaire Fleming playing on the SJS's women's volleyball team.

Ohio State University's Online Masters in Sports Administration program lists as a core course "Diversity and Inclusion in Sport."

According to the course description, the class “examines the role of sport in the lives of women, minorities, people with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals” and discusses “issues and controversies affecting these populations.” One learning outcome of the course is the ability to “articulate the benefits of diversity in the sport industry.”

Among the critics are former ESPN commentator Jason Whitlock who recently said on his podcast, "Fearless," that "the hyperfocus on DEI [has] diminished merit, has diminished competition, has undermined the pursuit of excellence for the pursuit of quotas."

Other schools include the University of Michigan-Dearborn and its Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management program that requires students to take an "Inclusion and Ethics in Sports" course, in which students learn “how differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical and mental ability, class, and sexual orientation” impact athletics. 

The description also states that students will explore “tensions through the range of diversity dimensions among a variety of stakeholders in professional sport settings.” 

The school argues the importance of such course work, amid the criticism.

"Diversity is also assessed as an asset to enrich the professional environment,” the course description reads, and “inclusive practices are also examined in the context of policies, systems, and processes in places of employment in sport settings.”

The University of Oklahoma’s Inclusive Praxis in Intercollegiate Athletics workshop-style course includes “inclusive practice, multicultural competence, and cultural humility” into aspiring athletics administrators. Special focus is given to current issues in college sports, such as race, gender, religion, nationality, class, sexual orientation, and “power-based violence.”

Bobby Burack, a commentator for "Outkick," a sports and commentary website owned by Fox News Media, tells "Just the News": “For years, companies like ESPN have prioritized putting people on air not for their talents or credentials, but because of their skin color or gender combination.

“This is evident in the ongoing coverage of Caitlin Clark. No one at ESPN will point out the obvious that the straight white girl is the one targeted because they were hired on the basis that straight white people should be targeted – also known as DEI.”

He continued: “Sports are supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. As soon as a team, program, or organization favors someone’s identity over their talent, the very foundation of sports is then broken. It is destroyed. At that point, athletics are no longer about winning but box checking. It defeats the entire purpose.”

Among the larger issues is the landmark, 1972 federal civil rights law known as Title IX that prohibits sex-based discrimination and ensures equal athletic opportunities. It applies to all public and private schools, colleges, and universities receiving financial assistance from the federal government.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that states can exclude transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports teams. 

The justices ruled unanimously that laws enacted by Idaho and West Virginia do not violate federal civil rights laws, but they were divided over whether the West Virginia law violates the Constitution, at least with regard to the athlete in the case before the court.

President Donald Trump’s administration is aggressively targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in higher education through such measures as executive orders and federal civil rights investigations.

“DEI is still alive and well at Big Sport and in academia, though its influence is unwinding,” Jennifer Sey, national gymnastics champion and founder of XX-XY Athletics, told "Just the News" exclusively.

She also says the situation “reflects this same institutional capture, the product of years of DEI training that prioritized ideological conformity over merit and that “Trump's executive order targeting DEI practices, dozens of major corporations publicly rolling back DEI language and programs, and regulatory scrutiny (like the EEOC's Nike investigation) all suggest the tide is turning.”

Before it was called DEI, race and gender-based equity practices such as affirmative action were prevalent and can still be seen in large professional sports organizations such as the National Football League’s (NFL) Rooney law, a 2003 policy that requires teams to prioritize diverse candidates for head coaching, general manager, and other leadership positions.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, in an effort to curb the league’s “history of open discrimination,” subpoenaed the NFL in May, arguing the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by promoting race and gender-based hiring considerations.

Other issues included the NFL in 2020 allowing the stenciling of "End Racism!" in end zones, essentially is support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The NFL removed the inscription last year amid criticism from Trump and others.

More recently, Major League Baseball teams hosted annual Pride Nights to support LGBTQ+ fans. League rules essentially prohibit specialty rainbow uniforms on-field. This season, some players protested with Bible verses on their caps, resulting in a league warning.