US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
The order will establish sweeping mandates on sex and sports policy. It will instruct federal agencies. They are to interpret federal Title IX rules as prohibiting the participation of transgender girls and women in female sports categories. This includes the Department of Justice. This information is based on a White House document on the upcoming executive order obtained by ABC News.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” sources said, will mandate immediate enforcement. This includes action against schools. It also targets athletic associations that “deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms,” according to the document. It will direct State attorneys general to identify best practices for enforcing the mandate.
The White House expects sports bodies like the NCAA to change their rules. This is to happen in accordance with the order once it is signed. This information comes from a senior administration official.
“We are a national governing body. We follow federal law,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told Republican senators at a hearing in December. “Clarity on this issue at the federal level would be very helpful.”
Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Wednesday afternoon. The signing ceremony will feature athletes, coaches, and advocates. These individuals have campaigned against transgender participation in women’s sports, sources said. More than 60 attendees, including former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, will join the ceremony.
“We want to take actions to affirmatively protect women’s sports,” deputy assistant to the president and senior policy strategist May Mailman told ABC News, who said that the executive order is designed to further overturn Biden-era policies that required schools and athletic organizations to treat gender identity and sex as equivalent.
She noted that a court ruling determined such requirements were not necessary. The president’s executive order would explicitly ban them.
Trump’s executive order will lead to increased discrimination and harassment. Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson made this statement on Tuesday.
“This order could expose young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look,” Robinson said.
“Participating in sports is about learning the values of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. And for so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong. We should want that for all kids – not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”
Mailman stated that the executive order’s goal was not to ensure everyone conforms to their sex stereotype. This occurs as they’re playing sports. The aim was to “protect women’s sports.” He added that options like co-ed categories would still be available.
If universities don’t comply, the White House warned they not only lose federal funding but also face legal action.
“If schools don’t comply, it’s not just that they’re at risk of DOJ-based actions,” Mailman said. “Title Nine has a private right of action component behind it, so if schools are violating the law, they’re at risk of lawsuits from their female students, that is going to actually be more than just taking away federal funding. These are multi-million dollar lawsuits.”
