NCAA urged to restore women’s trophies given to males

The Department of Education asked the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Tuesday to recognize women whose records and awards were given to male athletes. The Trump administration also called on the National Federation of State High School Associations to acknowledge women’s accomplishments.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing male athletes from participating in women’s sports. The day after the order, the NCAA changed its policies on male athletes’ participation in women’s sports. The organization decided that male athletes could practice with women’s sports teams but not compete with them.

Why is the Trump administration doing this? Following the president’s order and the NCAA’s policy change, the next step is to restore women’s sports records to the female competitors who earned them, DOE Deputy General Counsel Candice Jackson said. Restoring the awards that female athletes deserve is a crucial step toward accountability and integrity, former NCAA swimmer and women’s rights activist Riley Gaines said.

Will the NCAA do this? WORLD reached out to the NCAA for comment about the Department of Education letter but did not immediately receive a response.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report in The Sift about Trump’s executive order preventing male athletes from participating in women’s sports.