President Donald Trump's recent executive action regarding transgender athletes has led to significant changes within the NCAA, the largest governing body for college athletics in the United States.
On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' which focuses on compliance with Title IX and federal engagement with the private sector. The order aims to address the issue of transgender women competing in women's sports.
Following the executive order, the NCAA swiftly adjusted its participation policy for transgender athletes. The new policy restricts competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth only. This policy change applies to all NCAA athletes, regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the organization's prior transgender participation policy. The NCAA oversees more than 1,200 schools with over 500,000 athletes.
President Trump's action comes amidst a broader national debate on transgender athletes in women's sports. Prior to the executive order, three former athletes from the University of Pennsylvania women's swimming program filed a lawsuit against the school, the Ivy League Council of Presidents, and athletics organizations. The lawsuit alleges violations of federal law in allowing transgender athlete Lia Thomas to compete against them, particularly during the 2022 Ivy League women's championships where Thomas achieved significant success.
In addition to the executive order and the NCAA policy change, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that bans transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. However, this bill has yet to be considered by the Senate. Furthermore, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which oversees sports at 250 smaller colleges and universities, announced last year that it would effectively prohibit transgender women from participating in most of its women's sports programs.
