The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced it has banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports on Tuesday, July 22. The news, which is the latest result of the Trump administration’s attacks on trans athletes, comes as Los Angeles is gearing up to host the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The USOPC–the governing body that oversees US participation in any Olympic or Paralympic event, as well as athlete well-being–sent a letter to Team USA community members stating that its rules surrounding transgender athletes had changed. According to the organisation’s website, the USOPC issued the current version of its Athlete Safety Policy, which includes a new section under ‘jurisdiction’ entitled ‘additional requirements’, on June 18.  

Although the new amendment never explicitly references trans athletes, it states that the USOPC will work with stakeholders such as the International Olympic Committee “to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201.” Named ‘Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports’ by the Trump administration, Executive Order 14201 was signed by the US president on February 5. The policy attempts to ban trans women from all levels of national athletics by cutting federal funds from educational institutions that allow athletes to compete according to their gender identity.

While the executive order states that the Trump administration will convene with representatives from major athletic institutions and governing bodies to promote the current US government’s stance on trans athletes, the policy has no legally binding effect on organisations like the USOPC.

“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” the letter announcing the USOPC’s rule change said, as reported by The New York Times. 

 

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Unlike most global national Olympic and Paralympic committees, the USOPC does not receive federal funding. Instead, the organisation receives most of its money from commercial and private donors. The USOPC recently received a record-breaking $100 million donation from Ross Stevens, who made headlines in 2023 for threatening to pull his $100 million donation from the University of Pennsylvania over allegations of antisemitism following Palestinian solidarity protests on campus. Two days after he called for a change in leadership at UPenn, university president Liz Magill resigned. 

How the new USOPC rules will be enforced regarding trans athletes remains unclear. The national governing bodies of specific sports that fall under the canopy of the USOPC have begun making rule changes. USA Fencing created a new policy on Friday, July 18, that prevents trans women from competing in women’s categories. 

While the new rules will only impact Team USA, which has only had one openly trans athlete compete in the Olympics or Paralympics, changes at the international level could be coming. The IOC, which first allowed trans women to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics in 2004 and has since scaled back rules surrounding participation, recently elected a new president, Kirsty Coventry, who has previously supported barring trans athletes. And with the return of the Olympics and Paralympics to the US for the first time since 2002, trans rights in sports will likely remain a contested issue in the lead-up to the games.