U.S. Bars Transgender Athletes

Olympic body complies with Trump's order but eschews details of how ban will work

- Juliet Macur

NEW YORK - The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) quietly changed its eligibility rules on July 21 to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women's sports, and now will comply with President Donald Trump's executive order on the issue.

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 (NGBs) of sports federations in the United States now must follow the USOPC's lead, according to several chief executives of sports within the Olympic movement. Those national governing bodies oversee many, but not all, events in Olympic sports for all ages, from youth to masters' competitions.

In a letter sent by e-mail to the "Team USA Community," the committee acknowledged on July 22 that its policy had changed. The letter, from Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC's CEO, and Gene Sykes, the president, said the committee had held "a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials" since the executive order was signed.