On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order enforcing a ban on transgender players from competing in children’s activities. Before signing the purchase at the White House, where he was joined by kids and adult players, Trump declared,” From now on children’s activities will be just for women.” ” With this professional order, the war on children’s sports is over”.
Major Republicans, including US House speech Mike Johnson and Congresswoman Marjorie Green, attended the signing ceremony. Trump said,” We will protect the proud history of female players, and we will not allow people to beat up, destroy and steal our people and our ladies”, which was met with applause.
The order, titled” Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets” sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.
The decree allows US government agencies to reduce funding for institutions that allow transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams. ” If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated and risk your federal funding”, Trump said.
Trump added that he would push for the IOC to change its guidelines for transgender athletes before the Los Angeles Games in 2028. He claimed that Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, should have received a directive to change everything regarding the Olympics and this ridiculous subject.
Trump added that he had instructed Kristi Noem, the homeland security chief, to deny visas to people who, in his opinion, lied to be athletes entering the US for the Olympics.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order “upholds the promise of Title IX” and will require “immediate action, including enforcement actions” against institutions that do not offer locker rooms for women.
The order, which was issued on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, is the most recent executive action by the Republican president that addresses transgender issues.
Policy changes
Since returning to office, Trump has signed several orders related to gender identity. At his inauguration, he announced that US government policy would only recognize two genders, male and female, ending the option of a third gender in some settings.
Shortly after, he signed an order removing what he called” transgender ideology” from the military, effectively banning transgender troops. Another rule made gender transition procedures for people under the age of 19 difficult.
During the 2024 election campaign, Trump frequently criticized Democrats on transgender rights. He used the phrase,” Kamala Harris is for they/them. Trump reportedly said,” President Trump is for you,” referring to her support for transgender rights. He brought up her previous support for prisoners ‘ gender reassignment procedures.
The Republican-led House of Representatives approved a bill in January that prohibited transgender athletes from competing in girls ‘ and women’s sports, and this executive order comes after it.
Discussions about gender and fairness in sports have gotten more heated as transgender people have gained more ground in the US. Many conservatives have focused on this issue, emphasizing protections for women’s sports.
