'Men don't belong in women's sports,' NBA star believes amid debate over transgender athletes

The inclusion of transgender athletes has been hotly debated in the sports world and beyond NBA star Jonathan Isaac has previously shared his thoughts on the topic Last year the Orlando Magic forward appeared to take particular issue with the White House's commemoration of Transgender Day of Visibility CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMEvents at Pennsylvania Avenue took place on March the same day as Easter Sunday Isaac has a faith-based sports apparel and shoe line called UNITUS and he often pubically discusses his Christian conviction They want you to hate This helps no one and only promotes division he wrote They know exactly what they are doing we should be angry but shouldn t lose the spirit of what the day after means Don t lose focus Because He is risen there is hope for all In a latest interview with Fox News Digital Isaac further explained his stance on transgender athletes' eligibility in girls' and women's sports It's just a tough situation There's an ethic there's something that I believe is true I believe that men and women are different I believe that men do not belong in women's sports that's a fundamental belief I hold For reasons one I'm a guy and I can understand the difference and the advantages that we have Isaac stated But at the same time there is a reality of the situation there are people who are not in sports who are transgender who are trying to live their life the best way they know how And they have this feeling of what they believe is right and who else is to say they are wrong in selected sense BEARS LEGEND BRIAN URLACHER SHARES STANCE ON TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS' SPORTS AS ISSUE ROCKS ILLINOISIsaac acknowledged the humanity of the complex situation but reported his belief in the fundamental differences between men and women ultimately prompted him to draw a line in the sand But where I stake my flag is I believe that in order to cater to the feelings of this group I would have to trample on the feelings of women to get there And that's where I say 'OK that s where I believe this is wrong' and I would be willing to put my voice to it I understand the humanity of the situation I feel for the humanity of the situation But at the end of the day I believe it's right to stand on the truth of men and women are different And I wouldn't want my daughter to have to compete against a transgender athlete who has gone through puberty or has testosterone Isaac shares two daughters with his wife Shortly after President Donald Trump's second term began he signed an executive order effectively banning transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports The executive order Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports was based on Title IX part of a civil rights law passed in that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded coaching programs The order instructed the Department of Teaching to investigate academic institutions that failed to comply If a school is deemed to be in noncompliance federal funds could be withdrawn Elsewhere the International Olympic Committee has decided to allow global federations that govern a variety of sports to create their respective eligibility rules Under Trump's executive order the State Department is instructed to demand changes within the committee The NCAA reacted to the executive order by introducing a sweeping new procedures The organization's updated participation procedures which was released in February stated that only student-athletes assigned female at birth will be allowed to take part in intercollegiate athletic competitions The latest procedures does permit student-athletes assigned male at birth to practice with women's teams and receive benefits like clinical care However those athletes are banned from any NCAA-sanctioned competitions In December NCAA President Charlie Baker communicated a Senate committee there were less than transgender college pupil athletes he was aware of at the time Baker who was the Republican governor of Massachusetts from - also verified that there are roughly five hundred and ten thousand athletes enrolled in more than colleges and universities across all states that the NCAA oversees Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter