Trump's week in review: From gutting USAID to protecting women's sports
3. Signed executive seeking to protect women’s sports
In an executive order published Wednesday, Trump declared, "It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational institutions that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy" by allowing trans-identified male athletes to compete on women's sports teams.
Trump identified the policy as consistent with the mandate of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which requires educational institutions that receive funding from the federal government to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in education.
The executive order cited a federal court ruling stating that "ignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities," highlighting the argument that the biological differences between men and women give men an unfair advantage over women in athletics.
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Trump also sought to address the fact that "many sport-specific governing bodies have no official position or requirements regarding trans-identifying athletes" while "others allow men to compete in women's categories if these men reduce the testosterone in their bodies below certain levels or provide documentation of 'sincerely held' gender identity."
The executive order called on the assistant to the president for domestic policy to "convene representatives of major athletic organizations and governing bodies, and female athletes harmed by such policies, to promote policies that are fair and safe, in the best interests of female athletes, and consistent with the requirements of Title IX, as applicable."
On Thursday, the NCAA announced that only female student-athletes can compete on girls' sports teams but will allow men to "practice on an NCAA women's team and receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes."
In his order, Trump directed Secretary of State Rubio to "use all appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends the standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women's sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction" and promote "international rules and regulations" preserving women's sports to the United Nations.
The efforts to prevent trans-identified males from competing in women's sports stem from concerns arising from incidents where males who identify as females have shattered women's sports records.
The most notable example is Lia Thomas, a trans-identified swimmer who broke women's swimming records when competing on the University of Pennsylvania women's swimming team after three seasons on the men's team.
The factors that, on average, give males an advantage over females in athletics, as listed by USA Powerlifting, include "increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue."
Concerns about preserving fairness in women's sports have prompted 27 states to require athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their biological sex rather than their stated gender identity.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
