President Donald Trump He signed an executive order on Wednesday This prevents men from competing in women's sports, but questions remain about how the directive will unfold amid ongoing litigation, conflicting state laws and changing organizational guidelines .
The executive order entitled “Stop Men from Women's Sports” bans schools and universities that receive federal funds, and schools covered by Title IX can be found to be in women's sports teams, women's locker rooms and toilets. I'll allow it to be in. If educational institutions and their athletic associations fail to comply, they may face losses in investigations and federal funds.
“Therefore, it is a US policy that withdraws all funds from education programs to deprive women and girls of fair movement opportunities, bringing extinction, humiliation, silence and privacy for women and girls. “EO reads. “It is also US policy to oppose men's competitive participation in women's sports as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth.”
Matt Sharp, Senior Advisor and Director of the Center for Public Policy at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), has broken the impact of EO on educational institutions around the country.
“These schools are first and foremost to comply with Title IX. As long as these other states have opposite laws, those state laws must ultimately be based on Title IX. , the requirement is that these schools and these schools and universities must comply with this directive,” Sharp told Fox News Digital.
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Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendment was originally a 37-word provision excluding schools that receive federal funding from discriminating against students based on gender, ensuring equal opportunities for women in educational settings. did. ADF is actively involved in lawsuits that challenge state laws that allowed trans athletes to compete with women.
US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order “Stop men from women's sports” in the east room of the White House in Washington, DC on February 5, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)
“We know that federal law will replace state law on these issues,” Sharp added to Fox News Digital. “What we argue with clear policies from the Trump administration is what has always been the case with Title IX. When men allow these opportunities to be taken away, the promise of equal opportunities for young women is the It's to violate.”
The National College Athletic Association (NCAA), which has stepped into establishing policies that restrict transgender participation in women's sports, issued a new policy in line with Trump's EO on Thursday, claiming that all biological men has been banned from women's sports.
“Student-athletes assigned males at birth may not compete in female teams,” the new policy reads. Previous policies in place in 2010 allowed biological men to compete in the female category after at least a year of testosterone suppression treatment.
“We were ultimately encouraged to see the NCAA. I would like to emphasize that 'last' they are aware that they've been on the wrong side of this issue for a long time.” said Sharp. “From a very early stage, they are pushing for policies that allowed men to compete in women's sports, and the overwhelming force of men taking away opportunities from young women rather than showing true leadership. Even after the evidence of this, they said a kind of punt.”Well, we don't have a policy, we just postpone it to individual sports association organizations. ”
“The announcement that they are taking the position that male students are not eligible to compete in a female team is a good step, and I would like to praise them once more to finally come to it,” he added. “But even in the NCAA, I think there's still more work to do.”
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The Trump administration's EO is dealing with women-only spaces like locker rooms, but the NCAA did not provide clarification in the new regulations.
“That's where some of the most tragic stories happen,” Sharp said. “Riley Gaines and some of the other female athletes have a violation of their privacy when male Leah Thomas is allowed to enter the girls' locker room at these NCAA sanctioned and organized events. When I hear you talk about it, it's not okay,” he said to Fox News Digital.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order preventing Washington women and girls from competing in sporting events in the White House East Room on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“The NCAA needs to do more to ensure that female athletes who are part of the NCAA program have a fair and equal playing field and protect privacy and safety when competing at NCAA events. There is,” he added.
The EO also told the Secretary of State that “conforms to female athletes by amending the standards for managing Olympic sporting events to ensure that women are eligible for participation in sporting events.” Instructs us to confirm that we promote sex, safety and maximum benefits. It's not gender identity or testosterone reduction, not gender. “Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, and we are committed to EO. prompts questions about how it applies.
The IOC faced global criticism at the Parisio Games this summer. This is when Algerian Iman Kerif and Taiwan's Linyuting won gold medals in women's boxing. Both athletes were previously disqualified from international competition due to their failure in gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC and current President Thomas Bach have expressed support for both athletes. Khelif and Yu-Ting's natural birth sex is contested.
“We hope that the IOC will follow this policy with its own consent and more importantly, follow the science and ensure that men are not competing in women's sports,” Sharp said. . “I think that's the best of all the outcomes. IOC will revive strong policies that will revise courses and ensure that men are not participating in women's sports.”
The executive order is a big step in the right direction, but Sharp says the guidelines will not change from presidential administration to the next president, as the Supreme Court needs to clarify to see lasting changes. I did.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order preventing Washington women and girls from competing in sporting events in the White House East Room on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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The Biden Harris administration has attempted to redefine sex discrimination through a change to Title IX to include gender identity. Critics argued that it burns equal opportunities for women's sports and poses a threat to privacy and safety in private spaces. The change took place nationwide in August in states where rules do not face legal challenges. A federal judge blocked the Biden administration's title change nationwide in January.
A clear ruling from the Supreme Court would be beneficial, Sharp said, as ADF still has cases pending in federal courts challenging state laws allowing transgenders to participate in women's sports.
“Federal courts have very consistently ruled against the Biden administration's Title IX rules that have attempted to insert gender identity into Title IX,” he added. “It's a correct interpretation, and we love to protect biology-based women's opportunities, as the Supreme Court was originally properly interpreted, not by circuit, not by case, but rather by biology. It's about checking what was originally written in: sex, not gender identity or anything else that was not thought of when Title IX was enacted.
On Thursday, the Department of Education released a survey from San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. press release. The Civil Rights Office (OCR) in the Education sector actively reviews and evaluates Title IX compliance and protection of female athletes in many other schools.
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Jackson Thompson of Fox News contributed to this report.
