The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes on Thursday, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth only.
The move came one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order from participating in girls鈥� and women鈥檚 sports. The order gives federal agencies latitude to withhold federal funding from entities that do not abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration鈥檚 view, which interprets 鈥渟ex鈥� as the gender someone was assigned at birth.
change is effective immediately and applies to all athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA鈥檚 prior transgender participation policy. The organization has more than 1,200 schools with more than 500,000 athletes, easily the largest governing body for college athletics in the U.S.
鈥淲e strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today鈥檚 student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,鈥� NCAA President Charlie Baker said. 鈥淭o that end, President Trump鈥檚 order provides a clear, national standard.鈥�
The NCAA鈥檚 revised policy permits athletes assigned male at birth to practice with women鈥檚 teams and receive benefits such as medical care while practicing.
Eric Olson, The Associated Press
