Donald Trump on Wednesday, Feb. 4, signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
He signed the order in the East Room surrounded by lawmakers and female athletes who have come out in support of a ban, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who was spurred to become an anti-trans activist after she managed to only place fifth in an NCAA freestyle championship, tying with trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump declared in signing the order.
Transgender advocates, however, say that the “war on women’s sports” is nothing more than right-wing propaganda, and that this order and other actions from the Trump administration are, in fact, a war on transgender people at the most basic level.
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, said in a written statement: “This executive order is a malicious and baseless attack on trans girls and women nationwide. Every child deserves a quality education, including the opportunity to participate in school athletics, which teaches students of all ages the value of teamwork, dedication, and ambition.
“This executive order isn’t about protecting women and girls in sports — it does nothing to address the real issues facing women and girls in athletics, such as unequal access to funding and facilities, abuse by coaches, physicians, and other trusted adults and the unconscionable gender pay gap in professional sports,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “This executive order targeting transgender children is part of Trump’s campaign to erase transgender people from public life. While American families struggle with real issues — wages that can’t keep up with the rising cost of living, housing insecurities, and dwindling access to health care — the Trump administration is … doubling down on their extreme anti-trans agenda, targeting youth who just want to play sports.
“Our leaders should be focused on solving real problems — not scapegoating a marginalized community for political gain,” they concluded.
Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law analyzed the order, examining its potential impact on transgender youth on the estimated 300,000 transgender youth, aged 13 to 17, in the United States.
According to Williams Institute, studies have shown that negative social and policy environments “stigmatize LGBTQ individuals and instill fear of discrimination and harassment” and are associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes. “In addition, policies that require schools to out transgender students to their parents will likely increase rates of family rejection,” a press release from the institute notes.
Study author Christy Mallory, interim executive director and legal director at the Williams Institute, said, “This executive order conflicts with existing federal laws and constitutional provisions that protect the rights of transgender youth. However, regardless of its legality, the order will likely impact transgender students by increasing the instances of discrimination and harassment they face, ultimately affecting their health outcomes.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order demands “immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations” that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.