Athletics play a part in the lives of almost every member of Concord Academy to different degrees, whether it’s coaching, playing in team sports, running with friends, or working out in the gym. CA’s Athletics Department does a great deal to provide a safe and fair environment for student-athletes to compete, but for many others, their athletic career may be suspended due to one of the executive orders president Donald Trump signed this February.
The executive order—named, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”—prohibits anyone not born as biologically female from participating in women’s sports. “Men,” in this context, refers to any individual whose sex is marked as male at birth. This means that anyone who is not born as female is prohibited, greatly impacting the rights of transgender females. It also removes access for transgender females to women’s locker rooms and restrooms.
This order seems to contradict Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, which prevents sex-based discrimination in educational programs that require federal funding support. Title IX primarily helps to provide equal financial facilities and opportunities in schools for female athletes. The executive order states that, “in furtherance of the purposes of Title IX, the Secretary of Education shall promptly: [...] prioritize Title IX enforcement actions against educational institutions [...] that deny female students an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them, in the women’s category, to compete with or against or to appear unclothed before males.” This statement stresses the enforcement of Title IX on any educational institutions will be focused on creating a fair space for female athletes to compete and reassuring equal opportunities. The order further states, “All executive departments and agencies… shall review grants to educational programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order”—seemingly punishing institutions for not following the order.
The White House claims this order aims to create a just and safe environment for female athletes to compete in educational institutions and professional occasions. The effects of this executive order certainly alter the course of many athletes' careers and the educational programs behind them. The Act further includes negotiating with the International Olympics Committee to follow in the administration of this order, and also impacts visa applicants to the United States.
The influence of Trump’s executive order is greater than expected, and it proves that the journey to equal rights in athletics is merely beginning. The rights of every individual to athletics is a cause worth fighting for in the face of any obstacles.