USA Hockey has quietly adopted a new policy barring transgender athletes from participating in single-sex programs that do not align with their assigned sex at birth.
On November 15, 2025, the organization approved a participant eligibility policy requiring that in any programs restricted by sex — including adult recreational “beer” leagues — athletes may only compete against others of the same biological sex, according to The Athletic.
Under the policy, transgender men who have undergone hormone therapy are barred from competing in both men’s leagues and women’s leagues at the high school or adult levels.
The policy will officially take effect on April 1.
The policy notes that the “vast majority” of USA Hockey programs are co-ed and will not be affected, including youth and junior leagues, disabled hockey programs, high school and prep school co-ed leagues, and adult co-ed or “open” hockey leagues. Because those programs are not sex-specific, athletes remain eligible to compete regardless of assigned sex at birth.
USA Hockey’s Board of Directors said the policy was adopted in response to directives from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which barred transgender females from competing in women’s sporting events last year. That ban was instituted to align with an executive order issued by Donald Trump that threatens to yank federal funds from organizations that allow transgender women to participate in female-designated sports programs.
USA Hockey’s previous athlete eligibility policy, adopted in January 2019, allowed transgender women and girls to compete in competitive women’s leagues after completing a year of testosterone suppression therapy, and required transgender men who had begun hormone therapy to compete in men’s leagues. Nonbinary individuals were allowed to register for any league for which they met the requirements.
Harrison Browne, a former professional hockey player who is now an actor on the HBO gay-themed hockey series Heated Rivalry, called attention to the new policy last week in an Instagram post.
Browne, who played in the National Women’s Hockey League for three years, came out as transgender in 2016, but delayed hormone treatment until the end of his playing career. As a Canadian citizen, he isn’t directly impacted by the new policy, but has expressed concerns about the restrictions on transgender men, saying that he believes many will leave the sport if they cannot play in women’s leagues that have historically been more inclusive of transgender and nonbinary players.
“I played women’s hockey my entire career,” Browne told The Athletic. “A lot of trans men played women’s hockey their entire career, and women’s spaces are more safe for queer individuals, especially in hockey. If the choice is given to play in the men’s league or not play at all, most trans men would choose not to play at all.”
Browne stressed that some transgender men are happy to play in men’s-only hockey leagues, but will be barred from that as well under the new policy.
“I’m not advocating for trans men to be able to take testosterone while playing competitive leagues,” Browne said. “I’m talking about beer league, where the discrepancy of skill level is huge. It’s broken up into skill, and that’s the way that we should be breaking that up, in something that’s just for fun, exercise, and community. That also applies at the youth level, of just playing recreationally to gain friendships.”
For the first time in Salt Lake City’s history, a majority of the seven-member council is made up of out LGBTQ members, following last year’s municipal elections that produced a notably diverse governing body.
Erika Carlsen, a gay Latina, was elected to represent District 5, which includes Ballpark, Central Ninth, East Liberty Park, and Liberty Wells. Voters also reelected District 3’s Chris Wharton, who represents Capitol Hill, the Avenues, and City Creek Canyon.
Other LGBTQ members include Alejandro Puy, a gay Latino who represents District 2, which includes parts of downtown as well as Fairpark, Poplar Grove, and Glendale, and Eva Lopez Chavez, a gay Latina and the first Mexican American elected to the council, who represents District 4, covering parts of downtown, Central City, and East Central.
A transgender woman has filed a lawsuit against hotel giant Hilton, alleging that she was assaulted by a security guard at the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre while she was a registered guest.
According to the complaint, filed in the 192nd Civil District Court in Dallas County, Kimberly Barnett, an Afro-Latina transgender woman from Nebraska, was staying at the hotel in late June while attending Dallas Pride Weekend and other LGBTQ events.
Barnett returned to the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre around 3:45 a.m. on June 24 and attempted to "valet her vehicle," according to the lawsuit.
Same-sex pairs will be permitted to compete in British ice dance events, British Ice Skating -- the national governing body of figure skating, synchronized skating, and speed skating -- announced last week.
However, same-sex pairs will only be allowed to compete at the national level, as International Skating Union rules require pair and dance teams to be made up of one man and one woman, reports The Guardian.
The rule change was announced as part of British Ice Skating's updated championship requirements for the 2026-2027 season. The move follows similar changes adopted by Canada and Finland, with Canada becoming the first country to allow skaters of any gender to form a competitive pair or ice dance team in 2022.
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