​February 7, 2025 – The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) revised its eligibility rules for women’s sports yesterday, restricting participation in women’s competitions to female student-athletes. Male athletes who identify as women will still be allowed to practice with women’s teams. 

After taking the helm of the NCAA in March of 2023, NCAA President Charlie Baker ignored requests for a meeting from affected women-student athletes who as a result of a new NCAA policy enacted in January of 2022, were forced to compete against male-student athletes who identified as women. NOW-NYC urged Baker to bring the women-student athletes to the table and to reinstate fairness in competitive women’s collegiate sports. The NCAA is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 colleges in the U.S.

One year later in March 2024, 16 women athletes sued the NCAA for  violating their rights under Title IX which prohibits discrimination based on sex at any institution that receives federal funding. They are Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski, Ellen Holmquist, Riley Gaines, Grace Countie, Ainsley Erzen, Brooke Slusser, Ellie Eades, Lily Mullens, Kate Pearson, Susanna Price, Carter Satterfield, Katie Blankinship, Julianna Morrow, among other unnamed student-athletes.

“We applaud the women-student athletes who fought for their rights under Title IX. Their campaign to bring fairness back to their respective sports took guts and bravery. They have been harassed and faced threats online and in person,” said Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director of the National Organization for Women in New York City. “The NCAA’s new policy reinstates a level playing field for women’s collegiate sports competition going forward, but this madness won’t be over until historical records are corrected. Simply put, they want their rightful winning titles.”