The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has officially barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports — a move quietly made on Monday and now drawing national outrage. The change came in response to Executive Order 14201, signed by Donald Trump earlier this year.
The new policy, summarized in a single vague paragraph, says the Committee is “committed to protecting opportunities for athletes” and will work with the International Olympic bodies and sport federations to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.
Trump’s executive order, signed February 5, threatens federal funding for trans-inclusive sports programs and falsely claims that trans women, whom the order misgenders as men, have invaded more than 11,000 competitions. He also repeated a baseless rumor that a male boxer won a women’s gold medal in Paris. In reality, that boxer, Imane Khelif, is a cisgender woman who was targeted by far-right misinformation.
The National Women’s Law Center has condemned the Olympic Committee’s decision. CEO Fatima Goss Graves said, “The world is watching with alarm at the loss of freedom and opportunity in our country, especially as the United States is expected to host future Olympic events…The Committee will learn, as so many other institutions have, that there is no benefit in appeasing the endless, shifting, and petulant demands coming out of the White House.”
She warned the vague new policy could lead to humiliating sex-testing practices and further harm women athletes. For LGBTQ athletes across the country, this ruling marks a devastating step backward in the fight for equality and inclusion on the world’s stage.
