BREAKING: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has announced a complete ban on trans women from competing, aligning itself with a recent executive order issued by Donald Trump.
The USOPC move was immediately condemned by the National Women’s Law Center, who said in a statement:
Without any process or clarity about its decision, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has let Trump rewrite its rules in a cruel effort to deny transgender women the opportunity to participate.
This marks a further shift in the tone of international sport, and runs directly counter to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) past declarations against the politicisation of sport.
The IOC in November 2021 after a two year study, released a framework called Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations, which essentially says:
“No athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from competition on the grounds of transgender identity or sex variations.”
Despite this clear stance, we are now watching as governments and sporting bodies adopt policies that do exactly that: Introducing policies that deny trans athletes the right to compete at all, regardless of individual performance, history, or context.
We need to be absolutely clear on one thing. This isn’t just about sport.
The current wave of discussion of trans bans (which now stretch absurdly into domains like chess, pool & darts, where no physical advantage exists) is not about fairness, safety, or protecting women. It is about building a culture in which trans people are considered inherently illegitimate and unwelcome.
These bans are not isolated. They form part of a deliberate pattern. In the U.S., we see executive orders and anti-trans legislation; in the UK, we see Equality Act reinterpretations and politically motivated guidance from regulatory bodies. Across the media, trans lives are endlessly dissected, invalidated, and ridiculed.
The language of “concern” and “protection” masks a coordinated strategy of marginalisation, and in the end, elimination.
Sport is simply the most emotionally manipulative tool in this campaign – a domain that already stirs strong feelings about fairness and identity.
But once it becomes socially acceptable to exclude trans people from sport, the groundwork is laid to justify excluding us from facilities, healthcare, public spaces, and legal recognition altogether.
This is no longer just a slippery slope, we are already gathering speed sliding down it.
This moment should alarm anyone who believes in human rights, bodily autonomy, and the idea that people should be allowed to live and thrive as themselves.
The conversation is not really about sport. It never was.
It is about whether trans people have the right to exist – openly, equally, and without fear.
And right now, that right is under direct attack.
If you are rightfully angry and upset by stories and developments like these, your voice is important.
If you can, write to your local political representative, speak up among friends where the topics drift to these subjects, shout loudly in support for your trans friends.
And be there for us – we need it right now.
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