President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, sparking intense reaction on both sides of an ongoing debate.
The signing ceremony, scheduled to occur on National Women and Girls in Sports Day, took place at the White House Wednesday.
“The radical left has waged an all-out campaign to erase the very concept of biological sex and replace it with a militant transgender ideology,” Trump said during the ceremony. “With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker said that the Trump administration’s order would provide a “clear, national standard,” and that the governing body in charge of major collegiate sports in the U.S. would amend its policies to follow the new rules.
“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” Baker said in a statement.
While the issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s sports was a frequent refrain of the Trump campaign during the 2024 election, participation rates are extremely low. In testimony on Capitol Hill in December, Baker told the Senate that of more than 500,000 athletes at the NCAA level, he was aware of fewer than 10 that identify as trans, according to The Hill.
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The Illinois State High School Association issued a statement on the order, maintaining that they will follow state law.
“The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) developed its Transgender Policy in 2011 and has continued to adapt its Policy through the years based on guidance from medical experts, as well as state law,” Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor any legislation that impacts our policy here in Illinois and work with our Board of Directors to make sure we remain compliance with state law should any changes occur at that level.”
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The organization’s policy “allows participation by students consistent with their gender identity,” but also establishes procedures requiring students to “receive an eligibility ruling from the IHSA prior to participation in a state series event aligned with their gender identity.”
The order was met with criticism and calls for caution by several groups. Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson says that while the organization wants athletes to “have the opportunity to participate alongside their peers,” such bans can also have consequences.
“This order could expose 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,” Robinson said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, the order will direct federal agencies to interpret Title IX rules as “prohibiting the participating of transgender girls and women in female sports categories.” The order is aimed at creating a national standard amid continued lawsuits and different rules between states.
According to the order, the Department of Justice will help enforce the policy, meaning that if universities don’t comply, they could lose federal funding or face legal action.
The executive order could itself be subjected to legal scrutiny, with some groups hinting at lawsuits over the policy.
