One day following the Trump executive order, the NCAA prohibits transgender women from participating in sports

The NCAA, which oversees university athletics in the US, sided with US President Donald Trump and prohibited transgender people from participating in women’s sports as of Thursday.

The policy change was made a day after Trump issued an executive order that sought to bar transgender women and girls from participating in female sports. Detractors claim the rule violates the rights of a small minority of athletes, while advocates claim it would restore balance.

“A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team,” the new rules states, based on the sex that doctors assign to newborns and what is noted on their birth certificates.

Transgender women were formerly permitted to compete by the NCAA on a sport-by-sport basis, provided they satisfied testosterone limitations.

Trump declared on social media that “IT IS NOW BANNED!” in celebration of the NCAA rules change.

“For girls and women all around our nation, today is fantastic. “I am delighted to be the President to SAVE Women’s Sports,” Trump stated, adding that he expected the Olympics to do the same. “In the first place, males should never have been let to compete against women.

Most athletes are not impacted by the adjustment. Less than 10 transgender athletes out of the 530,000 participating at 1,100 member institutions are known to exist, according to National Collegiate Athletic Association President Charlie Baker, who testified before a Senate subcommittee in December.

However, Trump’s frequent references to transgender women and girls participating in feminine sports during his 2024 presidential campaign have sparked a nationwide political firestorm.

In an effort to revoke transgender rights, Trump has issued a number of orders, including prohibiting transgender individuals from serving in the military, directing transgender female convicts to be transferred to male prisons, and proposing to outlaw healthcare for anyone under the age of 19. Legal problems have been faced by everyone.

In a statement shortly after Trump signed his executive order in a White House ceremony, the NCAA praised it for offering a definite national norm among “a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” and promised that its Board of Governors will adjust its policy appropriately.

In less than a day, the gender-segregated modification was implemented for all sports. Eligibility would need to be certified by member schools, and “the application of this policy may not be waived.”

According to the guideline, transgender males would still be able to participate in men’s sports if they fulfilled all other eligibility standards.

However, a person who started hormone therapy, such testosterone injections, who was designated female at birth is not allowed to play on a women’s team.

As unlawful and founded on false information and misrepresentations about transgender persons, LGBTQ rights organizations denounced Trump’s executive order.

Advocates for Trans Equality, one organization, specifically criticized the NCAA on Wednesday, stating in a statement that “A4TE condemns the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s move to pre-emptively comply with a blatantly discriminatory and unconstitutional policy.”

Along with threatening to stop government money for any high schools that permit transgender girls to participate in female sports, the Trump directive aims to urge the International Olympic Committee to exclude trans athletes and refuse visas to trans women and girls who want to compete in the United States.

As long as competition is fair, transgender athletes are permitted to compete by the IOC.

To Trump’s directives, the committee issued a statement stating, “Working with the respective International Sports Federations, the IOC will continue to explain and discuss the various topics with the relevant authorities.” The statement was noncommittal.