The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has complied with Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sport.
According to NBC News, the committee updated its policies to reflect Trump’s order and suggest that trans women will no longer be able to compete against biological females at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
While it does not mention the word ‘transgender’ in any of its 27 pages, its new ‘Athlete Safety Policy’ includes language that implies the change has been made.
Trump signed the executive order banning trans women from competing against biological females back in February, a move which some US states have chosen to ignore.
Back in May, the president threatened to pull federal funding in California if the state did not ban trans women from female sports, before suing its Department of Education when they refused to do so.
The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department says California’s transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex.
The department says California’s rules ‘are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.’
More to follow.
