Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at banning transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. This order has sparked widespread attention and may have a profound impact on gender equality issues in the sports world. The issuance of this executive order marks a clearer stance by the U.S. government on the issue of transgender athletes' participation in sports, potentially reshaping the landscape of athletic competition.

The executive order, titled "Protecting Women’s Sports," grants broad authority to federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, to ensure that entities receiving federal funding comply with Title IX and align with the Trump administration's view of interpreting "sex" as the sex assigned at birth. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the order "upholds the promise of Title IX" and will require "immediate action, including law enforcement action" against schools and athletic associations that deny women the opportunity to participate in single-sex sports and use single-sex locker rooms, further solidifying the administration's commitment to its interpretation of gender.

Trump stated at the signing ceremony: "With this executive order, the war on women's sports is over." The order's release coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day and is the latest in a series of administrative actions taken by Trump targeting transgender individuals. During the campaign, Trump found that his promise to "keep men out of women's sports" resonated beyond traditional party lines. An Associated Press VoteCast survey showed that more than half of voters said government and society's support for transgender rights had gone too far, indicating a significant level of public concern regarding the issue.

The order explicitly authorizes the Department of Education to punish schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, arguing that they are not complying with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools. Any school found in violation could lose its eligibility for federal funding. The order also calls for private sports organizations to meet at the White House so that the President can personally hear "the stories of female athletes who have suffered lifelong injuries, been silenced, and forced to shower with men and compete against men on sports fields across the country," emphasizing the administration's focus on the perceived harm to cisgender female athletes.

Meanwhile, legal challenges to the executive order have already begun. Civil rights lawyers claim that Trump's order violates laws passed by Congress and constitutional protections in some cases, and exceeds the president's authority. For example, can the President require the NCAA to change its policies? NCAA President Charlie Baker told Republican senators in December that the organization would comply with federal law. The day before the order was issued, three former teammates of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas filed a lawsuit accusing the NCAA, the Ivy League, Harvard University, and their own school, the University of Pennsylvania, of conspiring to allow Thomas to participate in conference and national championships. A similar lawsuit filed last year by Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and others also made similar allegations, claiming that the defendants allowed Thomas to swim "and acted improperly," violating Title IX. Gaines attended Trump's signing ceremony, highlighting the ongoing legal and political battles surrounding transgender athletes in sports.