U.S. Olympic Committee changes trans athlete policy in response to Trump order

President Donald Trump's attempts to restrict trangender women from participating in women's sports have entered a new arena — Olympic sports.

On July 21, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, which is responsible for organizing the nation's Olympic teams, updated its "athlete safety" policy. The change requires its around 50 sport-specific national governing bodies to adopt more restrictive policies regarding transgender athletes.

As a result of this shift, each of the national organizations that manage amateur sports, groups like USA Cycling, USA Gymnastics, and USA Softball, must adopt policies that are "consistent with" Trump's Feb. 5 executive order "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports."

Trump's executive order, which largely focused on restricting transgender girls from competing with girls in school sports, included a section aimed at promoting similar policies for amateur and professional sports' governing bodies — including Olympic sports. 

The pressure appears to have worked. U.S. Olympic's president and CEO confirmed the changes in a letter to national governing bodies, The Associated Press reported July 23. "The USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials," the officials' letter said. "As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations."

The letter also said that the revised policy "emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment." But neither the safety policy, nor the letter included a deadline or more specifics. 

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee did not respond to our request for comment. 

National governing bodies are most well known for their role in forming U.S. Olympic teams, but the impact at that level may be small. In the 2024 Olympics, two transgender American athletes competed.

Beyond elite competitions, such governing bodies serve as the national organizing engine for their sport of choice — all the way down to the local level. They host competitions, train athletes, run youth camps, and organize club teams. 

Want to join your local curling club? It's probably affiliated with USA Curling. But it's not clear yet how local sports clubs may be affected by this policy change and whether they would be required to comply. 

The change may also be subject to legal challenge, the AP reported. The 1978 Ted Stevens Act states that certified national governing bodies cannot have "eligibility criteria related to amateur status or to participation…that are more restrictive than those of the appropriate international sports federation." 

International sports federations are the international counterparts to the United States' national governing bodies that set the rules for their respective sport in the Olympics. Although some have rules governing the participation of transgender athletes, many do not, or allow participation under certain circumstances. 

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's shift shows Trump's policy is being implemented beyond the scope of school sports. But it remains to be seen how each governing body will respond to the policy change and whether litigation will hamper it. Trump's promise to ban trans women from women's sports remains In the Works.