- Donald Trump’s ban on transgender female athletes could impact the Olympics. Trump has ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to encourage International Olympic Committee officials to adopt his ban and is threatening to deny visas to some athletes if the governing body does not.
Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports might apply only to U.S. schools and colleges right now, but he has a much larger target.
Trump has ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to push officials at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to adopt the ban, and he’s threatening to deny visas to athletes if his administration believes them to be “males seeking to participate in women’s sports.”
That’s more than an idle threat as Los Angeles will be the host city for the 2028 Olympics, which will take place during Trump’s second administration. The U.S. will also host athletes in 2034 for the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
The threats to athletes might not be required, however. The Wall Street Journal reports five of the seven candidates who are hoping to lead the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are in favor of tightening rules that define female athletes. And many of the Olympics’ biggest events already have policies that prohibit athletes who have gone through puberty as a male from competing in women’s sports.
The new IOC president will be elected next month.
Despite the order by Trump and the increased chatter among IOC presidential candidates, only one openly transgender athlete has ever competed in a women’s category during the Olympics. In 2021, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard participated in the Tokyo Games. She placed last in her group.
The IOC has permitted transgender athletes to take part in the Olympics since 2004, but did add stipulations in 2015, including the requirement that athletes who have transitioned from male to female take hormone suppressing drugs to reduce testosterone levels.