Transgender women banned from participating in women’s sports under Trump’s orders.
The newly US President Donald Trump’s executive order banned transgender women from participating in female athletics.
Amid the number of changes, Trump also signed a highly controversial executive order barring transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports.
The order mandates that high schools and colleges allowing transgender athletes to compete in female sports or use female locker rooms will lose federal funding.
He clarified that the US government is not going to let it happen, and it’s going to end.
The order also pressures the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to enforce sex-based participation rules for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and beyond.
Although the number of transgender athletes is only a handful, the issue sparked heated debate in America.
A 2023 Gallup poll revealed that 69 percent of Americans believe transgender athletes should compete on teams corresponding to their sex at birth, up from 62 percent in 2021.
The controversy has been fuelled by high-profile cases such as that of Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who won the NCAA Division I national championship in 2022 before being excluded from women’s events by World Aquatics.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association backed the executive order, calling it a “clear, national standard” to avoid conflicting state laws.
However, LGBTQ rights groups denounced the move, terming it harmful to transgender youth.
The executive order is the latest in a series of actions by President Trump targeting transgender rights, including measures limiting gender transition treatments for minors and a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
The order has further intensified the ongoing debate surrounding transgender rights in sports, with advocates for inclusion vowing to continue their efforts.
