Trump issued the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order on Wednesday, which prohibited athletes who were born male (but wished to identify as a woman later in life) from competing against females in athletic competitions. The move comes a little over two weeks after the president’s executive order requiring the federal government to recognize males and females as the only two sexes. 

“Under the Trump administration, we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls,” Trump said while signing the executive order. “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.”

Baker called the policy a “clear, national standard” in a released statement on Wednesday evening. 

“The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes,” Baker said. “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. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”

Previously, Baker had mandated that the NCAA prioritize accommodating transgender women at the expense of biological women. That would change due to Trump’s executive order. He said the NCAA is reviewing the policy change and will begin implementing changes to comply with Trump’s directive. He also announced that the NCAA would be ready to support any athlete affected by the new guidelines. 

“The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy.”