NCAA bans transgender women from sports a day after Trump executive order
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The NCAA previously allowed transgender women to compete as long as they met testosterone limits on a sport-by-sport basis.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for collegiate sports in the United States, banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports effective immediately on Feb 6, aligning itself with US President Donald Trump.
The policy change came one day after he signed an executive order attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports
“A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team,” the new policy says, basing sex on what doctors assign to infants at birth and what is marked on their birth records.
The NCAA previously allowed transgender women to compete as long as they met testosterone limits on a sport-by-sport basis. The rules varied by sport, especially as to how much testosterone could remain in a transgender woman’s blood following hormone therapy.
USA Volleyball, for instance, allowed an athlete to compete as a woman even with testosterone levels typical of many men. US Rowing’s limit for college athletes was just one-quarter of volleyball’s.
Mr Trump exulted the NCAA policy change with a social media post announcing: “IT IS NOW BANNED!”
“This is a great day for women and girls across our country,” he said, adding that he expected the Olympics to follow suit.
The change affects a small number of athletes. NCAA president Charlie Baker told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 530,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
The debate over transgender women playing college women’s sports has intensified in past years. In 2022, Lia Thomas, a swimmer, competed on the University of Pennsylvania women’s team after taking testosterone blockers and oestrogen – she won the 500-yard freestyle event at the NCAA national swimming championships.
Last March, a group of college athletes sued the NCAA for allowing Thomas to compete, saying her participation in a women’s event had violated their Title IX rights. And on Feb 4, three of her former university teammates sued the school, the Ivy League and Harvard University, which hosted the 2022 Ivy League swimming championships.
The issue has also caused an uproar in national politics, with Mr Trump regularly raising the issue of transgender women and girls competing in female sports during his 2024 presidential campaign.
He has issued a series of directives to repeal transgender rights
Shortly after Mr Trump signed his executive order in a ceremony at the White House, the NCAA welcomed it for providing a clear national standard in the face of “a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions”, saying in a statement that its board of governors would conform its policy accordingly.
The change came in less than 24 hours, applying immediately to all sports separated by gender. Member schools would be responsible for certifying eligibility and “the application of this policy may not be waived”.
Transgender men would still be eligible to compete in men’s sports as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements, the policy said.
However, an athlete who was assigned female at birth and who has begun hormone therapy such as testosterone injections may not compete on a women’s team.
LGBTQ rights organisations condemned Mr Trump’s executive order as unconstitutional and based on misstatements and distortions about transgender people.
One group, Advocates for Trans Equality, on Feb 5 singled out the NCAA for criticism, saying: “A4TE condemns the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s move to pre-emptively comply with a blatantly discriminatory and unconstitutional policy.”
The Trump order also threatens to cut off federal funding for any high school that allows transgender girls to compete in female sports, and it seeks to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban trans athletes and deny visas to trans women and girls who seek to enter the US to compete. The IOC allows transgender athletes to compete so long as competition remains fair.
The governing body was non-committal in response to Mr Trump’s orders, saying: “Working with the respective international sports federations, the IOC will continue to explain and discuss the various topics with the relevant authorities.” REUTERS, AFP, NYTIMES
