Trump order seeks ban on trans women athletes
By: Zac Anderson,
Swapna Venuigopal Ramaswamy
and Zachary Schermele
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday [02/05/2025] seeking to ban transgender students athletes form playing women's sports and to cut off feudal funds for schools that don't comply. the order also could block transgender athletes worldwide from competing in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
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Schools receiving taxpayer money are "on notice" that they could lose federal funding if they are out of compliance with the order. Trump said before signing the document amid a crowd of supporters at the White House.
..... "From now on, women's sports will be only for women," he said, surrounded by girls in athletic jerseys.
..... Republicans have exaggerated the extent to which trans youths, who make up only 1.4% of American teenagers according to federal survey data, participate in sports. A 2017 study of 17,000 young people found that about 1 in 10 trans boys said they played sports, and the statistic was roughly the same for tran girls.
..... trump's order direct the Department of Education, which the president wants to eliminate, to pursue "enforcement actions" under Title IX, the 1972 federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in educational institutions. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nore, will "deny any and all visa application" made by transgender female athletes Trump said Wednesday [02/05/2025] and Secretary of State
Narco Rubio will press Olympic organizers on transgender polices. The International Olympic Committee allows each sport's governing body to set rules on transgender athletes' participation.
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The order is among several early resumes Trump's administration has taken targeting trans individuals.
..... However, some legal experts question whether the Trump administration's interpretation of Title IX would hold sway in court. "Courts have taken certainly contrary views to what's in that executive order,' said Scott Schneider, a Texas attorney who handles Title IX cases.
..... And legal and civil rights experts have said it's not clear Trump has the authority to implement such broad restrictions immediately and unilaterally at the federal level. To legally prevent trans students from playing school sports, Congress would likely have to amend Title IX or the Education Department would have to process new regulations.
..... The question of whether transgender student-athletes have a right to play on their chosen teams has remained unresolved by the courts, Schneider said. For that reason, he said, the president's announcement won't have wide-ranging implications.
..... "T Here is no real practical significance," he said "Absent a court decision in your jurisdiction, or a change in Title IX, the status quo is maintained."
..... Many states already curb or block trans athletes' participation in school sports: other provide explicit protections for them.
..... "Multiple states have attempted to enact similar bans. We've confronted them in court repeatedly and have won repeatedly," Carl Charles, a Lambda Legal senior attorney, said in a statement.