On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports. The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” was signed by Trump on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
The Trump Administration will use the Department of Education to help enforce the policy by changing its interpretation of Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination in educational programs and activities on the bases of sex. The new intended interpretation will now consider “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Trump said, “Men should have NEVER been allowed to compete against women in the first place, but I am proud to be the President to SAVE Women’s Sports.” He then urged the Olympics Committee to implement policies to prohibit transgender athletes from participation.
Following the order, several states have vowed to challenge this policy, and many have spoken out condemning the action.
“Trump is going to do this again and again,” Connecticut attorney general William Tong said in a statement. “He’s going to try to tell us we have two choices, to either inflict terrible harm on Connecticut families or accept the consequences of his lawless draconian threats.”
President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center Fatima Goss Graves condemned President Trump and the executive order, and said, “Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments.”
The day after the order was signed, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) changed its participation policy to limit participation in women’s sports to those assigned female at birth. According to NCAA president Charlie Baker, there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes currently participating in the NCAA.
“I believe this action is discriminatory and unnecessarily alienates transgender athletes,” said junior track and field member Vanessa Connolly. “It perpetuates harmful stereotypes and portrays transgender athletes as a significant threat to women’s sports when, in reality, the number of transgender athletes in collegiate sports is incredibly small.” Connolly also said that she believed Trump’s claim that he is saving women’s sports was inaccurate.
“[Trump’s] sudden focus on “saving women’s sports” seems more politically motivated than genuine concern. If he truly cared, he would focus on addressing the real challenges women face in sports, such as equal pay, resources, and representation,” said Connolly.
Junior softball player Lucia Ceccarelli said she does not believe the executive order is based on any real fears about unfairness in women’s sports.
“Even the title of the executive order, ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,’ undermines the existence of trans individuals,” said Ceccarelli. “If the problem really was unfairness in women’s sports, they would work to address things that have been proven with research to be problems, such as unequal pay and lack of resources.”
The NCAA’s revised policy will allow athletes assigned male at birth to participate in practices with women’s teams but will not permit them to compete. Those in favor of the executive order say that it reinforces fairness in sports, supported by the argument that transgender women have a biological advantage over those assigned female at birth. On the other hand, LGBTQ+ advocates and human rights organizations argue that the political move is discriminatory and meant to further alienate the transgender community.
