USOPC bans transgender female athletes from the Olympics per Trump order

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The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee succumbed to pressure from President Donald Trump and quietly changed rules to prevent participation by transgender female athletes.

Buried in page 5 of the “Athlete Safety Policy” is, “USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sports. USOPC will continue to work with a variety of stakeholders with supervision responsibility.

It doesn’t mention anything about trans athletes, but the executive order signed by Trump is designed to prevent transgender girls and women from participating in sports. In a letter sent to the US Olympic community on Tuesday, USOPC President Jean Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirschland said the change took place after “a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” following the executive order signed by Trump in February.

“As a federal chartered organization, we are obligated to follow the expectations of the federal government. The guidance we received is consistent with the Ted Stevens Act and strengthens our mandated responsibility to promote athlete safety and competitive equity,” the letter read.

The letter also stated that individual national governing bodies are needed to update policies in line with changes to USOPC initially reported by the New York Times.

Prior to the change, adopted last month, the USOPC said decisions regarding transgender participation should be made based on “equity” and should be left to the governing body of individual sports.

“In our elite sports world, these elements of equity demand that athlete inclusion and athlete opportunities be harmonized. For all genders, especially those who are transgender, the only way to do that is to rely on real data and science-based evidence rather than ideology,” according to the USOPC website page, which currently introduces athlete safety.

The United States has never once been openly transgender female athletes compete at the Olympics. In fact, the IOC has allowed trans athletes to participate in 20 years, and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is the only openly trans woman to compete in Olympic matches. Hubbard was knocked out in the opening round.

However, the inclusion of trans athletes has become an increasingly billable political issue despite the lack of science that demonstrates a competitive advantage. World Athletics and World Aquatics have banned transgender women who have experienced competing male adolescents, and Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, announced last month the creation of a task force to explore ways to “protect women’s categories.”

USOPC spoke little about this issue. However, as Los Angeles hosts a summer game in 2028, he was careful not to say or do anything that could attract the rage of the Trump administration. USOPC is not funded by governments, but as many other countries do, it uses government services. For example, the Department of Homeland Security can help provide security to Los Angeles.

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