Just how ‘quietly’ did this change of policy take place? It took the New York Times a full day to notice, breaking just this afternoon, after the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee made the change Monday. Before yesterday, the USOPC had refused to take a position on the issue of transgender athletes in their competitions, referring all such questions to international sports bodies instead.
Clearly, something changed. And just as clearly, the USOPC didn’t want to talk about it. However this decision came about, it promises to change American sporting at most competitive levels:
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly changed its eligibility rules on Monday to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports, and now will comply with President Trump’s executive order on the issue, according to a post on the organization’s website.
The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of “USOPC Athlete Safety Policy” on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word “transgender” or the title of Mr. Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” referring to it instead as “Executive Order 14201.” …
The committee’s new policy means that the national governing bodies of sports federations in the United States — which oversee sporting events for all ages, from youth to masters’ competitions — now must follow the U.S.O.P.C.’s lead, according to several chief executives of sports within the Olympic movement.
The USOPC had posted a notice yesterday of the change, but apparently didn’t send out any press releases or announcements other than on its own website. When reporter Janet Macur followed up with a phone call, the committee confirmed the change, but remained rather ambiguous on the process that produced it. They did, however, acknowledge “conversations” with the Trump administration that his EO made all but impossible to avoid:
The U.S.O.P.C. acknowledged on Tuesday that its policy had changed. In an emailed statement, the committee said it had held “a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” since the executive order was signed. “As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” the statement said, adding that the committee would work with the national governing bodies to implement the new policy.
So common sense, biology, and respect for female spaces and competition won out over woke radicalism and female erasure. Small wonder the USOPC didn’t want to talk about it. It must be embarrassing to have this out in the open while working with Academia and the media!
In all seriousness, this is a tremendous step forward in protecting girls and women in sports. It’s not yet a complete victory, but there is some news on the next effort, coming from 28 state Attorneys General. Today, they sent a letter to the NCAA demanding that they strip all males of female-competition victories and records:
Attorneys general from 28 states sent a letter to the NCAA, urging the organization to wipe out records, awards, titles and any other recognitions transgender athletes received in women’s sports.
The letter, spearheaded by Mississippi attorney general Lynn Fitch, was sent on Tuesday, July 22, co-signed by other Republican attorneys general. Fitch said in a statement the letter urges the NCAA to “restore to female athletes the records, titles, awards, and recognitions they earned but were denied because of policies that allowed biological males to compete in female categories.” …
Previously, the policy used a sport-by-sport approach that “preserves opportunity for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete.” At the time, it aligned with decisions by United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, as well as International Olympic Committee.
But one day after Trump’s executive order, the NCAA changed course. Now, only student-athletes assigned female at birth can compete in women’s sports. The policy was “effective immediately and applies to all student-athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA’s prior transgender participation policy.”
The NCAA has already changed its policy. Now they need to correct the record and give females their due from the corrupted competition the NCAA allowed over the last few, insanely woke years.
One last question remains about the new USOPC policy. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, assuming the entire city doesn’t collapse under the weight of its current incompetent and malevolent government. When Karen Bass hears about this, though, will she withdraw the city from the competition? It might give her a better reason for losing the Olympics than just her own failures.
