The US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA ), which has officially updated its gender eligibility guidelines on Thursday, forbids transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
The decision, which takes effect immediately, comes just a day after US President Donald Trump signed the” No men in women’s sports” executive order. Although natural women are still permitted to play in people’s activities, the new law says that” a student-athlete assigned man at birth may not engage on a women’s team.”
Taking the issue to the social media platform X, Trump wrote,” Exciting information! According to my Executive Order, which I happily signed tuesday, the NCAA has actually changed their policy of allowing people in Women’s Sports – It is now banned! This is a wonderful time for girls and women in all of our nation. I’m proud to be the leader who helped save women’s athletics, even though it should have not been allowed for men to compete against people in the first place. We anticipate that the Olympic Committee will use common sense and carry out this scheme, which is extremely well-liked by both the American public and the universe as a whole.
This action, according to Fox News, is a significant change from the NCAA’s past scheme, which had been in position since 2010. Following at least one year of testosterone reduction, the old laws allowed transgender people to engage in women’s sports. The new legislation is in line with Trump’s professional order, which prefers to leave the choice up to individual states or governing body.
In response to the executive order, NCAA President Charlie Baker praised it as providing much-needed clearness amid a “patchwork of conflicting state regulations and court choices.” The New York Times quoted Baker as saying,” We firmly believe that clear, steady, and consistent eligibility criteria would best serve yesterday’s student-athletes”.
The discussion and legal conflicts surrounding the transgender participation in children’s sports have erupted. Riley Gaines, a former NCAA diver and liberal activist, is suing the organization for her participation in the 2022 national championships against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, according to Fox News.
A number of other female athletes have also filed claims, alleging unfair competition and distress in shared bag areas.
Additionally, according to Fox News, the department of education ( DOE ) has begun investigations into possible Title IX violations at institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and San Jose State University.
Transgender tennis player Blaire Fleming spent three seasons with the women’s team at San Jose State, reportedly without the other players being aware of her birth sex. Since then, the school has sued the organization along with eleven Mountain West tennis players and a former associate assistant.
Recently, a New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79 % of Americans, including 67 % of Democrats, opposed allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
