NAIA bans transgender athletes in U.S. collegiate sports

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics on Monday banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports, taking a more hardline stance than other athletic bodies that allow trans athletes to compete based on testosterone levels.
The NAIA, representing mostly small colleges, is less influential than the larger National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) but its decision carries some political weight in the wider U.S. debate about transgender rights.
“Only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports,” the association said in its policy.
Female athletes who have begun masculinizing hormone therapy may participate in internal workouts, practices and team activities but are banned from external competition. Any eligible athlete may participate in men’s sports, the policy said.