On February 5, Donald Trump fulfilled one of his campaign promises by signing an executive order that prohibits the participation of transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports. The order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," empowers federal agencies to enforce Title IX according to the interpretation of the Trump administration, which considers "sex" as the gender assigned at birth. After signing the order, the president declared: "With this executive order, the war on women's sports is over."
The executive order authorizes the Department of Education to penalize schools and athletic associations that allow the participation of transgender athletes in women's competitions, if they do not comply with Title IX and could lose federal funding. Additionally, it requires private sporting bodies to attend the White House so the president can hear the stories of athletes who have been injured, silenced, and forced to compete against men.
Trump's initiative comes a day after three swimmers filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, the Ivy League, Harvard, and Penn, accusing them of conspiring to allow Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete, to compete in women's championships. The executive order aims to strengthen efforts to preserve fairness and justice in women's sports, according to the vision of the Trump administration.
