The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Usopc) has changed its eligibility rules to ban transgender women from competing in female Olympic sports. In a publication on its website, the entity said it will comply with President Donald Trump’s decree on the matter.
The new policy, expressed in a short and vaguely formulated paragraph, is inserted in the “Usopc Athletes Safety Policy” category and does not include details of how the ban will work. The new policy also does not include the word “transgender” or the title of Trump’s executive order, “keeping men out of women’s sports,” referring to it only as “Executive Order 14201”.
Trump signed the executive order on February 5.
According to several sports executives of the Olympic movement, national sports federations agencies in the United States – which supervise sporting events for all ages, from youthful masters competitions – should now follow the guidance of Usopc.
Usepc recognized on Tuesday (22) that its policy has changed. In an email statement, the committee said it made “a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal authorities” since the executive order was signed.
“As a federally constituted organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” the statement says, adding that the committee will work with national agencies to implement the new policy.
Usa Fencing (fencing) has published a new policy for transgender athletes on Friday, which will take effect on August 1. These new rules still allow transgender women to compute, but only in the men’s category. Policy says non-binary athletes, transgender men and intersex athletes will also be limited to competing in the men’s category.
Usepc has stated in its new policy that it is “committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in the sport.” He also said that he will work with the COI (International Olympic Committee), the CPI (International Paralympic Committee) and the national bodies of each Olympic sport “to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with the Ted Stevens Law of Olympic and Amateur Sports.”
The committee had not announced plans to comply with Trump’s order. Prior to the publication of the new policy, he had kept away from the matter. Instead, he had delegated decisions about the eligibility of transgender athletes to the national organs of each sport. The US Olympic Committee has 54 member organizations, according to its website.
Before Monday, the transgender policy of the committee stated that the group was having “real data and evidence based on science rather than ideology.” “This means making decisions based on science, sport for sport and discipline by discipline, both in Olympic and Paralympic movements,” said the previous politics.
The IOC has been dealing for years with the issue of transgender athletes and intersex in sports, creating various rules at various times, including sex tests, in an effort to balance justice with inclusion. Its current policy allows each international sports federation – as the World Athletics, athletics, or the International Cycling Federation, for example – determine whether, and how, transgender athletes can compete at international events.
The city of Los Angeles, in the United States, will be the headquarters of the next editions of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games in 2028
