America Basks in Joy as NCAA Brings In Groundbreaking Change in Inclusion of Trans Athletes

President Donald Trump’s executive order was a massive blow. After that, the entry of change into the policy was a matter of time. At last, the events turned into that way only and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) took a groundbreaking decision. After 2022, it was the second time the NCAA’s Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes went through such a tremendous change. On February 5, Donald Trump put his signature on an executive order, which shut the door for transgender athletes to compete in the female categories of sports in the USA.

Additionally, the order has instruments to take stringent action for the colleges failing to comply with the order. In fact, a violation of the executive order would be counted as opposing Title IX, the federal law responsible for banning sex discrimination in schools. After this, the announcement from the NCAA was evident, and it came on the very next day, i.e., February 6. What did it say and what have the reactions been because of it? 

The NCAA incorporates the changes into its policy 

The problem was with the NCAA’s outright following of the Olympic Movement on the matter of Transgender Student-Athletes Policy. Accepted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympic Movement bars rules that include and discriminate against athletes based “on the basis of gender identity and sex variations.” However, Donald Trump’s executive order has the name, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” So, it is about drawing a line between the eligibility of college athletes. But what about the NCAA’s new policy? 

Well, now, the reformed policy doesn’t have the promise of adhering to the Olympic Movement. In that place, the policy has a few fresh guidelines: Two sub-clauses, the first one noting the student-athletes who are ‘assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team’. However, such student-athletes coming with the mentioned characters may find the gate open in the practice sessions with the women’s teams that are consistent with their gender identity. Also, those athletes who can get entry into the practice sessions will get all benefits applicable to student-athletes.

Therefore, the visible change aligns with Donald Trump’s words: “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.” Additionally, the change has come with an explicit order, “effective immediately.” Thus, from February 6, the new policy has been active for almost 1,100 colleges and universities in the USA. Nonetheless, a few colleges have come under scanner, allegedly violating Title IX. SJSU and the University of Pennsylvania are among those. Otherwise, the change in the policy has caused widespread reactions among college sports followers. Here are a few examples. 

Fans display emotions over the change in the policy 

On X, May Mailman’s post on the topic garnered a lot of comments on the matter. The Harvard Law grad has been a prominent voice, demanding the ban on trans athletes’ entry in the women’s category in college sports. Notably, in her X-post, she kept the caption, “OH MY GOD!!!! [emoji] NCAA makes it official. No men in women’s sports.” Mirroring the same emotion, someone wrote beneath the post, “Steps in the right direction. Protect women’s athletics!” Talking about protecting women’s athletics, the policy change will shut the door for “less than 10” transgender athletes to compete in the women’s category in college sports events. However, a lot of nitty-gritty has yet to come on the matter. 

In the meantime, another X-user wrote in the comment box, “Amazing what leadership can do.” The leadership mentioned here is directed at Donald Trump. The President of the United States has had an agenda on the matter. Moreover, on his first day in office, POTUS issued a distinct executive order directing the federal government to classify sex officially as either male or female. The effects of those steps brought the change in the NCAA’s policy, as the fans count. But not everyone was about to praise the policy change. 

One X-user commented on X, “Such a big deal over such a small nonissue.” The “small nonissue” may find justification, as in December last year, the NCAA president Charlie Baker claimed the number of transgender athletes to be “less than 10” in the NCAA. So the change in the policy has come only for a handful of student-athletes. Meanwhile, another X-user raised a question on the policy change, and it is about the choice of words in the rules. 

The user’s comment read, “Great, but “assigned male at birth” needs to be males may not compete. It’s still their bs verbiage.” Notably, the part “Assigned female at birth/Assigned male at birth” comes in the vocabulary of LGBTQ+ inclusion. On UW Medicine’s website, the words are mentioned with the meaning, “Refers to the sex that is assigned to an infant, most often based on the infant’s anatomical and other biological characteristics.” So, the choice of words may not create any issues. But for a few college sports followers, the delay in bringing the changes has surely created an issue. 

One such fan wrote, “What took them so long? They need to explain……” After 2022, the NCAA took three years to bring the key changes. Only the officials can explain the reason for the delay. However, for many, the change in the policy matters, and it has come only after the push from the government.