Attorneys general from 28 U.S. states have called on the NCAA to erase records, titles, awards, and other achievements earned by transgender athletes in women’s sports, citing fairness for female competitors.
The effort, led by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and supported by Republican attorneys general from across the country, was formalized in a letter sent Tuesday, July 22. The letter argues that biological males competing in women’s sports have unfairly displaced female athletes and demands the NCAA take further action to reverse those impacts.
“The NCAA must restore to female athletes the records, titles, awards, and recognitions they earned but were denied due to policies that allowed biological males to compete in female categories,” Fitch said in a statement.
The push comes amid a broader initiative by the Trump administration to ban transgender women and girls from female sports divisions. Shortly after taking office in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 5 that barred transgender participation in school sports. Institutions that fail to comply risk losing federal funding.
The NCAA responded to the executive order by scrapping its previous policy, which had allowed transgender athletes to compete based on sport-specific guidelines tied to testosterone levels and aligned with Olympic standards. Under the new policy, only athletes assigned female at birth are eligible to compete in women’s sports — a rule that took effect immediately across all divisions.
Despite the policy shift, Republican attorneys general contend that more must be done, particularly in revisiting past competitions and achievements involving transgender athletes. The letter references former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title in 2022.
Following the executive order, the Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the university’s decision to allow Thomas to compete. In March, the federal government suspended approximately $175 million in contracts with the school. On July 1, Penn reached a settlement, agreeing to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports and to vacate Thomas’s records at the university. However, her NCAA national championship win in the 500-yard freestyle — and her other placements in NCAA competitions — remain on the books.
“The University of Pennsylvania took an important step by affirming its commitment to Title IX and compliance with President Trump’s orders,” the letter states. “Other colleges and the NCAA should follow suit.”
When asked about the request to retroactively erase records, the NCAA declined to confirm any changes. In a statement to USA TODAY Sports, the organization said its policy now aligns with the administration’s order. It also noted that the presence of male practice players on women’s teams has long been common.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, speaking before a Senate committee last December, emphasized that fewer than 10 transgender athletes currently compete under the NCAA’s umbrella, representing a fraction of the 510,000 student-athletes participating in collegiate sports nationwide.
