Trump admin asks NCAA, high schools to erase records set by transgender athletes
Trump signs 'No Men in Women's Sports' order
On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order which banned men from participating in women's sports.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is pushing for past sports titles and records to be reassigned following its executive order restricting transgender athletes from women’s sports.
The Department of Education confirmed Tuesday that it has sent letters to the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) requesting changes to their record books.
The move aligns with the administration’s broader effort to limit transgender participation in athletics and follows the NCAA’s own policy change last week, which now restricts competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth.
What the Trump administration is demanding
The backstory:
The Education Department said its request is "entirely consistent with the NCAA's new policy" and that the government has a responsibility to "restore fairness" in women’s athletics.
President Donald Trump waves after signing the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order in the East Room of the White House on February 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
"The Trump Education Department will do everything in our power to right this wrong and champion the hard-earned accomplishments of past, current, and future female collegiate athletes," Candice Jackson, deputy general counsel at the department, said in a statement.
What this means for transgender athletes
Dig deeper:
The request could impact past champions, including Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who won the 500-yard freestyle NCAA title in 2022. While the NCAA has previously vacated titles due to recruiting violations and infractions, it is unclear whether it will take similar action in this case.
At the high school level, implementing such changes could be more complicated. The NFHS oversees state athletic organizations, but each state sets its own policies, meaning the process of adjusting past records would likely require action from individual state associations.
What's next:
Neither the NCAA nor the National Federation of State High School Associations has publicly responded to the request.
The situation remains fluid as the Education Department’s push for retroactive changes is expected to face legal and logistical challenges.
The Source: This article is based on reporting from the Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles.