Washington, D.C. As part of its commitment to upholding President Donald Trump’s executive order safeguarding women’s and girls’ access to safe and equitable sports, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is revising its athlete safety policy.
The announcement of the new policy on Monday was made quietly on the USOPC website and in a letter to national sport governing bodies, rather than with much fanfare.
In February, Trump issued his executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
According to the executive directive, a number of educational institutions and sports organizations have let men to participate in women’s sports in recent years. This deprives women and girls of the equal opportunity to engage in and succeed in competitive sports, and it is degrading, unfair, and harmful for them.
Regarding Title IX and transgender women’s participation in women’s sports, numerous states have been found to be noncompliant with Trump’s edict. A federal law known as Title IX forbids sex-based discrimination in any activity or program receiving government support for education.
States that are not in compliance and could lose federal education funds include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, according to a July 15 post from Defending Education, a nationwide group that works to counteract the perceived politicization of education.
Section 3.3 of the 27-page USOPCAthlete Safety Policy now states, “The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport,” without specifically mentioning transgender athletes. In accordance with Executive Order 14201, the USOPC will keep working with other stakeholders who have oversight duties, such as the IOC, IPC, and NGBs, to guarantee that women enjoy a safe and equitable environment for competition.
This was unexpected, according to Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor for the Independent Women’s Forum.
“It was unexpected,” she said. The president’s executive order from February, in which he specifically called on them and other governing bodies to align their policies with his directive, was in effect even though there was no warning.
Parlato told The Center Square that she and IWF members had been watching and waiting to see if USOPC would comply, and she praised the policy adjustment.
Then, she said, it happened so gently. Men will not be permitted to compete, according to a recent amendment to their website policy. They have a policy like that.
She clarified that USOPC is placing the responsibility for following its example on the governing bodies of other sports organizations.
According to Parlato, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is establishing the rules and now requesting compliance from all other organizations, including each sport’s own federations and governing bodies. Since each sport has its own national governing body, they are requesting that all other national governing organizations of all other sports take a cue from them.
According to Parlato, it’s unclear if enforcement will occur or how it would operate.
According to her, they essentially stated that the different sports federations needed to modify their policies. I’m simply trying to figure out why they would have done it that way in my capacity as a lawyer.
She pointed out that because USOPC is a nationally chartered entity, Congress has oversight over it.
According to Parlato, while they are a private nonprofit organization, they are essentially a quasi-governmental organization and must abide by federal law. They were therefore had to abide by President Trump’s executive order, which was enacted on February 6th, prohibiting men from participating in women’s sports.
The National Women’s Law Center’s president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves, responded to the USOPC policy change with a statement.
“With the United States expected to host future Olympic events, the world is watching with alarm at the loss of freedom and opportunity in our country,” she said.
Like so many other institutions, the Committee will discover that there is no point in caving in to the White House’s incessant, erratic, and petty demands.
The USOPC action comes after the NCAA recently decided to exclude biological males from participating in women’s sports.
