NCAA bars transgender women from competing in women’s sports

The National Collegiate Athletic Association on Thursday updated its transgender student-athlete policy to prohibit trans women from competing in women’s sports, one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating the federal government would defund schools that allow trans women to do so.

The new policy says students assigned male at birth may practice with women’s teams and receive related benefits such as medical care, but they are not allowed to engage in formal competition. All students, regardless of gender or sex, may compete on men’s teams, though athletes taking testosterone must complete a medical exemption process. Students assigned female at birth who are taking testosterone or engaging in hormone therapy are also banned from women’s teams.

The NCAA previously followed Olympic standards in deferring to sports’ national governing bodies in determining eligibility for trans athletes. The organization adopted that policy in January 2022.

“The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes. We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a news release.

Baker told a Senate panel in December that he was aware of fewer than 10 current trans NCAA athletes.

Trump’s latest action builds on his previous executive order declaring that there are only two sexes and demanding federal agencies stop promoting “gender ideology,” which the White House said “replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity.” He also signed an executive order banning transgender people from openly serving in the military.

In an Instagram video, transgender triathlete and trans rights advocate Chris Mosier said the policy’s focus on athletes’ assigned sexes at birth presents gender solely as a binary concept.

“It is mirroring the executive orders of the president in trying to legislate away trans and nonbinary identities,” Mosier said.

Mosier also said the policy affects intersex women and women who practice hormone therapy for medical reasons, such as to treat polycystic ovary syndrome. The NCAA does not mention a medical exception process for athletes to join women’s teams.

In a statement, LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD said, “This move is deeply disturbing and not informed by any of the medical, scientific, and human rights expertise that has previously guided NCAA policy and keeps all student athletes safe.”

“It is also premature and purely a response from the inaccurate and incoherent rhetoric from the Trump White House and its attempt to intimidate educational institutions,” GLAAD said. “Students deserve leaders who will look out for their best interests instead of caving to bullies trying to legitimize discrimination and harm.”