Trump admin says schools that let men win women's athletic titles need to revoke them

The Trump administration is demanding that the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) strip trans-identified males of the women’s titles and records they won while competing in the women’s division, including former UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas.

The Department of Education’s letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker and NFHS President Bob Lombardi stated, "We cannot undo the damage inflicted by years of policies and practices that have denied the material reality of sex and conflated that immutable characteristic with a subjective, fluid concept of ‘identity’ by prospectively returning to objective, factual sex classifications in athletics," the Daily Caller reported.

"But we can recognize the harms done and injustices committed by such misguided policies and reversing their effects will restore a genuine commitment to girls’ and women’s equality of opportunity in athletic competition across the United States," the letter continued.

In early February, Trump signed an executive order barring biological males from competing in women’s sports in schools that receive federal funding. The following day, the NCAA announced that women’s divisions are for "student-athletes assigned female at birth only."

The Department of Education argued that restoring the athletics currently held by biological males to the female athletes that would have won them is "entirely consistent" with the NCAA’s new policy. 

Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who tied with Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships said in a DOE press release obtained by the outlet, "Restoring stolen athletic accolades to their rightful owners is a crucial step towards reinstating accountability, integrity, and common sense — one that I wholeheartedly support."

The letter continued, "The NCAA’s and NFHS’s leadership on this issue will also encourage K-12 school districts, interscholastic athletic associations, and sports governing bodies to similarly act to restore to girls and women the dignity and equality of opportunity represented by factually accurate records of female athletic accomplishments."