Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Transgender Athletes from Women’s Sports

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which bans transgender athletes from taking part in women’s sports competitions. This directive immediately enforces stricter measures in sports and gender policy by disallowing participation by transgender athletes in female sports divisions. The president emphasized that with this order, he intends to end what he described as the “war on women’s sports.”

In addition to barring transgender athletes from female sports, the order directs the Department of Homeland Security to refuse visas for transgender athletes aiming to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Trump also criticized international sports bodies, citing previous instances where athletes with ambiguous sex test results were allowed to compete, thereby challenging the integrity of competitive female sports.

The executive order forms part of a wider campaign by the Trump administration to tackle what it perceives as “woke” policies, consistent with previous actions that define gender strictly in binary terms and restrict gender transition for minors. The new rule set extends to educational institutions as well, with the Department of Education poised to impose penalties, including the loss of federal funding, on schools that permit transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

This move has sparked significant debate as officials noted that only a very small number of transgender athletes were present among the extensive pool of competitors in various collegiate sports leagues. The order’s timing coincided with America’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day, underlining Trump’s call for what he terms a return to traditional gender definitions in sports.