U.S.
Trump signs order barring trans women and girls from high school, college sports
By
New York Daily News (TNS) February 6, 2025
Dave Goldiner and Cayla Bamberger
New York Daily News (TNS) February 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump joined by women athletes signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The executive order, which Trump signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sports and is the third order he has signed that targets transgender people. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at barring transgender women and girls from participating in female high school and college sports.
In his latest effort to roll back trans rights, Trump proclaimed the so-called No Men in Women’s Sports executive order that declares Title IX of the Civil Rights Act may no longer be used to protect transgender women from discrimination.
“From now on women’s sports will be only for women,” Trump declared, flanked by cheering female athletes. “The war on women’s sports is over.”
The order offers legal interpretations and authorizes the Department of Education to investigate high schools and colleges thought to violate the ban and potentially cut federal aid.
“We are putting every school on notice: If you let men take over sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated … and risk losing your federal funding,” Trump said. “There will be no federal funding.”
Trump plans to use the executive order to push for a ban on transgender women participating in Olympic events.
Trump was joined at the White House signing ceremony by two outspoken right-wing opponents of transgender rights: former college swimmer Riley Gaines and former ESPN host Sage Steele.
The order conflicts with New York State laws and regulations that mandate access for transgender people, setting the stage for a possible court battle.
When asked about the executive order, state Education Department spokesman J.P. O’Hare referred the Daily News to a statement from Monday.
“New York’s Constitution guarantees a system of public schools ‘wherein all the children of this state may be educated,’” the department said. “Recent executive orders issued by the president are antithetical to this tradition. They are also ineffective, as the president has a constitutional duty to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed.’ This means the president cannot decide which laws to enforce or funds to distribute.”
“The board and the department remain committed to the inherent dignity and worth of every child. As such, we denounce the intolerant rhetoric of these orders,” the statement concluded.
NYC Public Schools, the nation’s largest school district, reiterated the rights of students to have their gender identity and expression respected, but said top education officials must review the order.
“We continue to maintain our longstanding policy ensuring that every student can participate in sports in accordance with their gender identity,” read the schools’ statement. “As part of our ongoing commitment to serving our students and staff, we will evaluate the executive order to determine if it will have any impact on New York City Public Schools.”
A spokesman for state Attorney General Letitia James, who is fighting Trump’s effort to ban gender-affirming care for minors, said James wouldn’t comment until the order is issued.
Trump signed the order on National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which was started in 1987 as a way to celebrate female athletes and inspire girls to participate in sports.
Trump and his allies claim that permitting transgender women to compete in women’s and girl’s sports is unfair to their competitors and promotes leftist “gender ideology.” LGBTQ advocates say it’s simply allowing people to participate in sports using the gender they identify as.
The order “exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look,” said Kelley Robinson of the Human Rights Campaign, which backs LGBTQ rights.
Title IX is best known for its role in pursuing gender equity and inclusion in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.
But Trump aims to use it as a tool to keep transgender women off the playing fields.
It’s unclear how many people Trump’s order will actually affect. The number of transgender athletes competing in school and college sports is thought to be minuscule.
The order is just the latest in a rapid-fire series of orders issued by Trump to roll back transgender rights, a stance that polls say is backed by a majority of Americans.
Trump put out a sweeping order on his first day in office mandating that the federal government will recognize all people as either male or female, a status he said must match their gender at birth. The gender must be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments.
He also banned transgender troops from serving in the military, ending a policy of inclusion promulgated by former President Joe Biden. Last week, federal agencies ordered workers to remove their preferred pronouns from their email signatures.
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