The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced Tuesday that men who identify as women are no longer eligible to compete in female categories for Team USA.
Trans-identified male athletes will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s categories for Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, under a new directive from the USOPC that enforces President Donald Trump’s executive order to preserve women’s sports, ABC News reported. The decision follows Trump’s order in February titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which requires immediate compliance by federally funded institutions, including athletic associations.
The policy directs state attorneys general to enforce protections for women’s single-sex teams and facilities. In a letter addressed to Team USA on Tuesday, USOPC President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland acknowledged the federal policy.
“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations. The guidance we’ve received aligns with the Ted Stevens Act, reinforcing our mandated responsibility to promote athlete safety and competitive fairness,” the letter read.
The USOPC said it’s committed to safeguarding women’s categories across Olympic-affiliated events, pledging to coordinate with governing bodies such as the International Olympic Committee and national sport federations. The new policy aligns with the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, which governs eligibility disputes in amateur athletics.
“In our world of elite sport, these elements of fairness demand that we reconcile athlete inclusion and athlete opportunity. The only way to do that for all genders, and specifically for those who are transgender, is to rely on real data and science-based evidence rather than ideology,” according to a page on the USOPC’s website, which now carries a note at the top referring to the Athlete Safety Policy.
While the USOPC did not detail how the policy will be enforced or whether similar restrictions will apply to men’s categories, USA Fencing has already adopted parallel rules, ABC News reported. Beginning Aug. 1, all trans-identifying individuals, including nonbinary and intersex athletes, will be restricted to men’s divisions.
Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of the Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee held a hearing in May to address USA Fencing’s gender eligibility rules. The rules allowed transgender athletes to compete in the female division, a topic Greene raised after female fencer Stephanie Turner faced punishment months ago for protesting being forced to compete against a male.
“Women’s sports are for women only. Radical leftists pushing to let biological men compete against women are destroying fair competition and putting female athletes in physical danger. Stephanie Turner had the courage to call out this insanity, and she’s a hero to women across America,” said Greene.
USOPC did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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