Attorneys general urge NCAA to erase transgender athlete records
The letter comes as the Trump Administration has targeted removing transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, and threatening schools that resist. On Feb. 5, less than a month into his presidency, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that barred transgender women and girls from playing in school sports, and schools that don't comply would be cut off of federal funding.
The NCAA altered its policy on transgender athletes as a result. Previously, the policy used a sport-by-sport approach that "preserves opportunity for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete." At the time, it aligned with decisions by United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, as well as International Olympic Committee.
But one day after Trump's executive order, the NCAA changed course. Now, only student-athletes assigned female at birth can compete in women's sports. The policy was "effective immediately and applies to all student-athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA's prior transgender participation policy."
Since the executive order, there have been several legal threats against states for allowing transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, notably in Maine and in California.
It also led to a notable Title IX investigation into the University of Pennsylvania surrounding former swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I title. In March, the federal government suspended roughly $175 million in contracts to Penn for allowing Thomas to compete.
On July 1, the university reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women's sports and strip Thomas' records.
While Thomas' records were removed at Penn, it didn't impact her NCAA championship records. Thomas won the women's 500-yard freestyle event in 2022, and she tied for fifth in the women's 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle.
"The University of Pennsylvania took an important public step recently, affirming that it will comply with Title IX and President Trump's executive orders," the letter states. "All colleges and universities should follow suit, as should the NCAA."
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports, the NCAA did not address whether it would erase transgender athlete records.
"The NCAA's transgender participation policy aligns with the Trump Administration's order and male practice players have been common practice in women's college athletics for decades," the NCAA said.
NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel in December there are less than 10 transgender athletes in the NCAA, making up a small percentage of the roughly 510,000 men and women who compete in the organization.
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