Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order which would ban trans women from participating in women's sports at all federally funded educational institutions. You probably saw the video of Trump surrounded by women and girls as he signed the order.

BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump signs an executive order keeping men OUT of women's sports.

Promises made, promises kept. pic.twitter.com/rDfC2qmiu4

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 5, 2025

That EO did not have the power to change the official policies of sporting bodies like the NCAA or the IOC, however the White House made it very clear that they expected these organizations to follow their lead. And today, the NCAA has fallen in line. The new police announced today is effective immediately.

“We strongly believe that clear, consistent and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions,” Charlie Baker, the president of the N.C.A.A., said in a statement. “To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”

The N.C.A.A.’s previous policy on transgender athletes gave each sport’s national governing body the power to decide the parameters of their participation. That included setting the limits on testosterone levels and sometimes deeming how long athletes must suppress their testosterone before being eligible to compete.

The NCAA's change of heart also comes one day after three former UPenn athletes filed a lawsuit against them (and others) for allowing trans swimmer LIa Thomas to compete in the national women's championships.

The complaint filed by Grace Estabrook, Ellen Holmquist and Margot Kaczorowski focuses on the 2022 Ivy League women’s championships, where Thomas won four first-place medals and set multiple records, demanding that her records be vacated.

“The Ivy League engaged in a season-long pressure campaign to keep Thomas eligible to compete and prevent women from speaking up for their equal rights,” the lawsuit alleges...

The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Bill Bock, a former NCAA Infractions Committee member who also filed suit last year on behalf of other collegiate swimmers in connection with Thomas’ participation in the 2022 NCAA championships.

“This lawsuit exposes the behind the scenes scheming that led to the attempt by Harvard University, UPenn, the Ivy League and the NCAA, to impose radical gender ideology on the American college sports landscape,” Bock said in a statement to CNN.

In 2022 the NCAA was already considering new rules which required trans athletes to have three years of testing showing testosterone levels that were below a specific threshold. Had they been adopted the month before the championships, Thomas would not have been allowed to compete because Thomas was still competing on the male team three years prior. But the lawsuit alleges that the NCAA held off on implementing the new rules at the behest of the Ivy Leave and its president. As a result, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, didn't get to compete.

“The Ivy League had won when the NCAA backed down and changed its nationwide rules to bring Thomas back into compliance and renew Thomas’ eligibility,” the lawsuit states.

Plaintiff Ellen Holmquist did not qualify for the Ivy League Championships that year. Holmquist claims she was told by a coach that she had missed the cutoff by one spot, arguing that Thomas’ participation effectively denied her the opportunity to compete.

The NCAA was smart to move quickly. There really is not much of a constituency for continuing this particular charade. Even commenters on the NY Times story, many of whom are clearly on the left, agree with the decision.

This is after all a central reason Trump was elected. And if the progressive pundits truly want to follow the science, they would not oppose this with the anticipated meltdown. After all, even the UK and the EU countries have reconsidered based on the science. The usual justification -- fear of depression and suicide for teens otherwise -- has not been backed up by reliable studies. 

But if our Democratic Party insists on staying on the wrong side of this, it will keep losing.

From a Harris voter:

I voted for Kamala but as a female former Div 1 shot putter I could not agree more with the Trump administration here.  I was loving seeing him sign this executive order surrounded by girls and women who had real skin in the game speaking out.

Lots of people saying they agree with Trump for the first time ever.

• "This is THE ONLY subject on which I agree with the current administration."
• "First time I agree with Trump. Didn't vote for him but totally support his decision and the NCAA."
• "This is the one and only thing Trump has gotten right. The presence or absence of a 'Y' chromosome should determine whether a person competes against men or women. Period."
• "Good. I'm no Trump fan, but this one was the right call."

Last one:

Not a Trump fan or a Trump voter by any stretch, but Democrats nursing their bruises from the election beatdown are WILDLY underestimating the resonance of this issue with the voters. I strongly believe that this issue, and Democratic policies supporting young teens changing gender with drugs and surgery is what put Trump over the top.

These policies are hugely repellent to most mainstream voters, including a big chunk of normally progressive voters,  and Democrats were utterly oblivious to this. The Democratic Party can squawk all they want about the loss being due to "the economy" or "messaging" but the truth is  that it was absurd Democratic positions on these gender issues that disgusted people enough to switch their vote to Trump. Democratic transgender policies and the boost they gave to Trump cost Democrats the election.

We can only hope Democrats keep fighting this because it will ensure they keep losing for years to come.