[Photo credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports]
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) quietly updated its eligibility rules to prevent men from participating on women’s teams, in compliance with an executive order from President Donald Trump.
The committee changed the rule on Monday, amending its “Athlete Safety Policy” to imply that males will be prevented from participating in women’s divisions. The document did not use the word “transgender” in any of its 27 pages.
“The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201,” the updated version said.
Trump signed Executive Order 14201, also known as “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” on February 5. That order said allowing men to participate in women’s sports “is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
The order instructed the secretary of state to ...
