The president of the United States, Donald Trumpsigned an executive order on Wednesday to fulfill one of its main campaign promises: prohibit transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
“In a few moments, I will sign a historic executive order to prohibit men from competing in women’s sports. It was time “Trump said in the White House during the act of signature, among strong applause of the public.
“From now on, Women’s sport will be only for women. We will proudly defend the tradition of athletes and We will not allow men to hit them, injure them and cheat Against our women and girls. From now on, women’s sport will be only for women, “said the president.
Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028
The White House did not clarify how the executive order will affect the Los Angeles Olympic Games 2028but Trump said he will try to prevent transgender women from competing.
He explained that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubiowill transfer the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they must reject the “transgender madness.” “We want them to change everything related to the Olympic Games and this issue absolutely ridiculousthat we should not even be arguing, “he said.
Trump also announced that the US It will refuse the visas Athlete transgender women, which could affect the participation of some teams.
Trump and other detractors of the participation of transgender athletes in female competitions argue that these athletes have a unfair advantagean affirmation that the scientific community does not support.
A study published in 2017 in ‘Sports Medicine’ did not find consistent tests of athletic superioritywhile another of 2023 concluded that many physical differences between the sexes are reduced or disappear with the hormonal therapy of gender statement.
According to this study of 2023, the height or length of the extremities of transgender athletes may vary, but scientists point out that there are no restrictions for senior athletes with high statures or exceptional physical skills.
“Men out of female sports”
The Executive Order, called ‘Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports’ (keeping men outside women’s sports), is based on an interpretation of Title IX, a historic Federal Civil Rights Law approved in 1972, which prohibits discrimination against sex reason at any school or educational program that receives federal funds.
Each administration has the power to interpret this legislation. During his first term (2017-2021), Trump issued a regulation under Title IX that restricted the definition of sexual harassment and limited investigations in universities to the cases denounced before certain officials.
The government of Joe Biden (2021-2025) revoked that Trump regulations to protect victims from sexual abuse in university campuses and established protections for the rights of LGBTQ+students.
That policy, however, did not explicitly approach the participation of transgender athletes. Even so, more than half a dozen states governed by Republicans brought the norm to the courts, generating a controversy that Trump knew how to capitalize on his electoral campaign.
During his campaign, Trump promised to “keep men outside women’s sports” and, in the final stretch of the elections, a television ad the use of public funds to finance gender reallocation surgeries in prisons.
On his first day in office, on January 20, Trump issued an order that instructed the federal government to define sex only as masculine or female in official documents such as passports.
The order signed today represents a radical turn in federal government policy regarding transgender people and their rights.
However, it is difficult to quantify the impact that the executive order will have since there are no official data on how many transgender athletes participate in sports competitions.
