The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has updated its Athlete Safety Policy and the change bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The new policy is dated June 18 and was added to the USOPC website without any public announcement.
This follows Executive Order 14201 that Donald Trump signed in February after returning to office. The order is called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” and says that letting trans athletes compete is “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous” and denies women and girls “the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
The policy from the USOPC says: “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 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.”
The enforcement details for the 2028 Olympics are not clear yet. So far, no openly trans athlete has ever won an Olympic medal in a women’s category.
USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes addressed the policy in a letter to Team USA. They said: “As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.”
They also said: “The guidance we’ve received aligns with the Ted Stevens Act, reinforcing our mandated responsibility to promote athlete safety and competitive fairness.”
Trans athletes and related policies have been a growing debate across the country. In July, the University of Pennsylvania said it was stripping Lia Thomas of her swimming records.
UPenn also said that trans athletes will not be allowed to use female locker rooms or compete in female-only sports anymore. That decision came after a ruling that the school violated a sex discrimination rule by allowing Thomas to compete.
The school is now using biology-based definitions for “male” and “female,” which matches the language of the executive order. This is part of a broader shift in how sports programs are defining sex and eligibility.
A study from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport said: “Available evidence indicates trans women who have undergone testosterone suppression have no clear biological advantages over cis women in elite sport.”
The rules already require certain testosterone levels for athletes to be eligible. That’s what kept CeCe Telfer, a transgender runner, out of the 400m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The group Independent Council on Women’s Sports said: “We thank the Trump administration and the USOPC for taking this important step to preserve fairness and integrity in women’s sports.
“The next critical step is for the USOPC to implement sex screening protocols. This will ensure that women are guaranteed equal, fair, and safe opportunities in athletic competition.”
