January 30 2026, 08:15 
USA Hockey has approved a new policy that will ban transgender players from sex-segregated hockey programs, reversing its previous trans-inclusive policy.
As The New York Times’ The Athletic reports, the organization — recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the U.S. — approved its new Participation Eligibility Policy in mid-November. It’s set to take effect on April 1.
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The new policy notes that the “vast majority of USA Hockey’s programs are co-ed and not restricted by sex.” All players, regardless of their sex and gender identity, remain eligible to participate in youth hockey at all age levels and team classifications, junior hockey, and disabled hockey programs, as well as high school, prep school, and adult hockey programs that are not segregated by sex.
However, the new policy mandates that players who wish to participate in sex-segregated programs are only allowed to participate in programs that align with their sex assigned at birth.
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Crucially, the policy includes an exception for trans men, who “may not play in programs restricted to females if they have undergone any male hormone therapy.”
As actor and former professional hockey player Harrison Browne noted in a recent Instagram post, the new policy effectively bans trans men on HRT from participating on both women’s and men’s teams.
“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,” Browne, who recently appeared in Season 1 of Heated Rivalry, told The Athletic. “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.”
As the outlet notes, Browne came out as trans in 2016 while playing in the National Women’s Hockey League, but he delayed HRT until retiring from the sport.
In his Instagram post, Browne took particular issue with the new policy’s impact on adult recreational hockey programs, or “beer leagues.”
“I’m not advocating for trans men to be able to take testosterone while playing competitive leagues,” Browne told The Athletic. “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.”
According to The Athletic, USA Hockey’s Board of Directors approved the new eligibility policy in response to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s recent policy change, effectively barring transgender women from competing in women’s events.
Last July, the USOPC updated its “Athlete Safety Policy,” noting that it had an “obligation to comply” with the current president’s February 2025 “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, which threatened to rescind federal funding for organizations that allow trans women and girls to participate in women’s and girls’ sports programs. As NPR noted at the time, the USOPC sent a letter to the national governing bodies it oversees, instructing them to bring their own policies into compliance with the U.S. anti-trans order.
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