The NCAA has lost its common sense and backbone.

Shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting transgender women from participating in sports, the NCAA cast aside the few who were involved. In doing this, NCAA president Charlie Baker and his colleagues inadvertently showed how absurd this situation really is.

While the NCAA has barred transgender women from competing, they stated in their recent announcement that these athletes can still practice with women’s teams. Interestingly, male practice players are still permitted as well. This raises an important question: if the safety of cisgender women is one of the main arguments against transgender women playing, shouldn’t it apply in practice sessions too? Wouldn’t male practice players pose a similar risk? If transgender women are painted as potential threats to the safety of women, how can they still be allowed to train alongside them?

This reasoning is circular and deeply flawed, only serving to further stigmatize the “less than 10” transgender athletes currently in the NCAA.

Well done, Charlie. Please don’t hurt yourself with self-congratulation for what you’ve termed “clarity” when it’s really just cowardice, throwing already vulnerable individuals under the bus to avoid being targeted by the President and his allies.

Once upon a time, the NCAA was unafraid to fight against prejudice. They refused to hold championship events in South Carolina for nearly 15 years because of the state’s racism, exemplified by the Confederate flag flying over the Statehouse. They pulled events from North Carolina in protest of legislation that forced transgender individuals to use restrooms designated for their sex assigned at birth.

When Indiana passed a “religious freedom” bill that allowed discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, Mark Emmert, then president of the NCAA, strongly condemned it, prompting a shift in the law within days.

“The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events,” Emmert articulated at that time, expressing concern over how this law could impact student-athletes and employees.

How drastically things have changed. Presently, the NCAA seems only focused on protecting its own interests.

The narrative pushed by opponents of transgender rights promotes the idea of a sizable group of transgender women waiting to take over every gym and sports field, threatening to push cisgender women out of the spotlight. This misguided belief implies that transgender women endanger the safety and integrity of young girls in sports.

Instead of succumbing to this hysteria, let’s pause for a moment. Parents of young girls in sports, how many transgender kids do you actually know on your daughter’s team or in her league? Not just assuming based on rumors or appearances, but truly know? Collegiate athletes—how many transgender individuals have you encountered during your time in sports?

For over a decade, the International Olympic Committee and NCAA had protocols in place that permitted transgender participation. Last I checked, cisgender women are still competing fiercely and standing proudly on podiums adorned with medals. This panic is purely that—panic without basis.

And let’s not get started on the “science.” The claim that transgender women have an inherent advantage because they were assigned male at birth is both misleading and simplistic. To compare transgender women and cisgender women accurately, we need comprehensive studies, of which there are very few. One study that was conducted indicated that it might actually be transgender women who are at a disadvantage.

This fear-mongering, this unkindness, this witch hunt has always been about finding a solution for a nonexistent problem. Transgender women are not a menace. They are not monsters. They aren’t taking over sports, now or ever.

These young women and girls wish to compete and bond with their peers just like everyone else, yet the NCAA is telling them to leave. They are being made to feel unwelcome and are being told that the organization believes all the horrible claims made by their detractors.

“The schools are directed to promote inclusive environments,” read the NCAA’s statement.

Oh, I can only imagine how comforting that will be for the “less than 10” transgender athletes, as noted by Baker! The NCAA’s gestures amount to little more than empty words after they have essentially thrown these individuals to the wolves and encouraged adversaries to amplify their discriminatory efforts.

Because this is exactly what it is. The Trump administration is determined to eliminate all safe spaces for transgender individuals beyond their homes—whether in the military, workplaces, healthcare settings, or now on the sports fields.

Sport has the unique ability to teach life lessons. Regrettably, the NCAA has turned intolerance and ignorance into part of that lesson.

Follow sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.