NCAA bans transgender athletes from women’s sports

The National Collegiate Athletic Association said Thursday it was banning transgender athletes from women’s sports to comply with a recent enforcement bid from President Trump.

The “policy change,” effectual immediately, restricts women’s sports to lone those athletes assigned pistillate astatine birth. There’s presently nary correlating regularisation for men’s sports, provided those players conscionable each different NCAA eligibility requirements.

Athletes affected by the prohibition volition inactive beryllium allowed to signifier with teams.

Trump’s enforcement bid allows the Department of Education to withhold national backing from schools that interruption the administration’s mentation of Title IX arsenic defining “sex” arsenic the sex idiosyncratic was assigned astatine birth. Such decisions were antecedently made connected a sport-by-sport basis.

“The warfare connected women’s sports is over,” Trump declared Wednesday erstwhile signing the order. “We are putting each schoolhouse connected notice: If you fto men instrumentality implicit sports teams oregon invade your locker rooms, you volition beryllium investigated … and hazard losing your national funding.”

In announcing the argumentation alteration Thursday, the NCAA said Trump’s enforcement bid “provides a clear, nationalist standard.”

“We powerfully judge that clear, accordant and azygous eligibility standards would champion service today’s student-athletes alternatively of a patchwork of conflicting authorities laws and tribunal decisions,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said successful a statement.

Baker testified to Congress successful December that the NCAA needed ineligible clarity astir the contented of transgender athletes, portion besides estimating determination were less than 10 trans athletes among the 530,000 competing astatine astir 1,100 subordinate schools.

“You person national judges ruling connected idiosyncratic cases. You person states, 26, 27 states with 1 acceptable of rules, a full clump of states with different sets of rules,” Baker told reporters astatine the time. “I bash deliberation we would invited immoderate clarity determination connected this, truthful that everybody has a wide knowing astir what the rules of the crippled are.”

The NCAA was sued past twelvemonth by respective erstwhile student-athletes for allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to vie astatine the nationalist championships successful 2022.

The organization’s determination follows a akin ban connected transgender athletes from the LGPA successful December.

Originally Published: February 6, 2025 astatine 7:16 PM EST