It took an executive order from President Donald Trump for the National Collegiate Athletic Association to do what is right.
On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Trump signed an Executive Order on “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The order reads, “Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
This change was long overdue.
Despite NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines bringing attention to this issue and numerous women being injured competing against biological males in sports, the NCAA had not acted. Within hours of the executive order, however, NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a statement of compliance, saying, “The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration.” The NCAA has now announced a new policy limiting competition in women’s sports to “student-athletes assigned female at birth only.”
Good for the NCAA for following Trump’s lead. But it shouldn’t have taken presidential action for the NCAA to protect women and their right to play sports.
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