Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Transgender Athletes from Women’s Sports, Sparks Controversy
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports at educational institutions receiving federal funding, Al Jazeera reports.
The order, signed on Wednesday, has ignited a firestorm of debate across the nation, drawing both strong support and fierce opposition.
The executive order stipulates that federal government funding will be denied to schools and universities that allow transgender girls and women to participate on female sports teams or use female locker rooms. It also directs government agencies to advocate for sex-based female sports categories at international organizations. Furthermore, the order calls for the convening of representatives from major athletic organizations and governing bodies to promote “policies that are fair and safe, in the best interests of female athletes.”
“We are putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice: If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump said, referencing the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
Declaring an end to “the war on women’s sport,” Trump asserted his administration would not “stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes.”
Trump also expressed his intention to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to explicitly endorse sex-based participation rules before the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The IOC currently leaves the issue of transgender athletes’ participation to individual international governing bodies.
“We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject,” the president said.
The issue of transgender women’s participation in sports has become a highly contentious issue in recent years, despite the relatively small number of athletes involved. High-profile controversies, such as that of college swimmer Lia Thomas, who won an NCAA Division I national championship in 2022 before being barred from women’s events by World Aquatics, have fueled the debate.
Opinion polls indicate a growing public opposition to transgender women competing in women’s sports. A 2023 Gallup poll revealed that 69% of Americans believe transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on teams that align with their sex assigned at birth, a seven-point increase compared to 2021.
NCAA President Charlie Baker welcomed Trump’s order, calling it a move to set a “clear, national standard.”
Critics of the order argue that it is discriminatory and harmful to transgender individuals, while supporters contend that it is necessary to ensure fairness and safety in women’s sports.
This executive order is the fourth directed at transgender people since Trump assumed office in January. Previous orders include a proclamation to only recognize two sexes, a ban on transgender people from serving openly in the military, and an order defunding gender transitions for people under the age of 19.
