Latest news with #NoMeninWomen'sSports
Fox News
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Linda McMahon speaks out on protecting women and girls from trans athletes during confirmation hearing
Linda McMahon made her stance clear on trans inclusion in women's and girls' sports during her confirmation hearing for education secretary on Thursday. "I do not believe that biological boys should be able to compete against girls in sports, and I think now that certainly not only have the people spoken, because that was something that Trump ran very heavily on, but I believe the court has spoken," McMahon said. A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump's opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women's sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women's bathrooms," as important to them. And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important." Trump vowed during his 2024 campaign to ban trans athletes from women's and girls' sports. Trump made good on that promise early when he signed the No Men in Women's Sports executive order on Feb. 5. Prior to that, the Supreme Court ruled in August to deny a Biden administration emergency request to enforce portions of the former president's Title IX rewrites that would allow biological males in women's and girls' changing rooms. And as McMahon looks to get confirmed as education secretary, she insists on carrying out the original mission of Title IX, and keeping women's sports for biological females. "We are really back to what Title IX was originally established to do and that was to protect social discrimination. Women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn't have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them," McMahon said Thursday. "I heard one person the other day say, 'Well, guys should just hold the shower curtain in front of them so that they aren't exposing themselves.' I mean really, that's just not what we should be doing. We should be making sure that Title IX, which is the law, should be enforced." The Biden administration education secretary, Miguel Angel Cardona, supported allowing trans athletes to compete in women's and girls' sports. Cardona helped draft the Title IX changes that would have prohibited blanket bans of transgender athletes on public school teams. In a June 2021 interview with ESPN, Cardona said "transgender girls have a right to compete." "Our LGBTQ students have endured more harassment than most other groups. It's critically important that we stand with them and give them opportunities to engage in what every other child can engage in without harassment," Cardona said. "It's their right as a student to participate in these activities. And we know sports does more than just put ribbons on the first-, second- and third-place winner," he said. "We know that it provides opportunities for students to become a part of a team, to learn a lot about themselves, to set goals and reach them and to challenge themselves. Athletics provides that in our K-12 systems and in our colleges, and all students deserve an opportunity to engage in that." Now, under the Trump administration, there will be multiple layers of efforts to prevent trans athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports, and McMahon's agenda will be one of those layers if she is confirmed. A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democratic, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump signs order barring trans women and girls from high school, college sports
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at barring transgender women and girls from participating in female high school and college sports. In his latest effort to roll back trans rights, Trump proclaimed the so-called No Men in Women's Sports executive order that declares Title IX of the Civil Rights Act may no longer be used to protect transgender women from discrimination. 'From now on women's sports will be only for women,' Trump declared, flanked by cheering female athletes. 'The war on women's sports is over.' The order offers legal interpretations and authorizes the Department of Education to investigate high schools and colleges thought to violate the ban and potentially cut federal aid. 'We are putting every school on notice: If you let men take over sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated … and risk losing your federal funding,' Trump said. 'There will be no federal funding.' Trump plans to use the executive order to push for a ban on transgender women participating in Olympic events. Trump was joined at the White House signing ceremony by two outspoken right-wing opponents of transgender rights: former college swimmer Riley Gaines and former ESPN host Sage Steele. The order conflicts with New York State laws and regulations that mandate access for transgender people, setting the stage for a possible court battle. When asked about the executive order, state Education Department spokesman J.P. O'Hare referred the Daily News to a statement from Monday. 'New York's Constitution guarantees a system of public schools 'wherein all the children of this state may be educated,'' the department said. 'Recent executive orders issued by the president are antithetical to this tradition. They are also ineffective, as the president has a constitutional duty to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' This means the president cannot decide which laws to enforce or funds to distribute.' 'The board and the department remain committed to the inherent dignity and worth of every child. As such, we denounce the intolerant rhetoric of these orders,' the statement concluded. NYC Public Schools, the nation's largest school district, reiterated the rights of students to have their gender identity and expression respected, but said top education officials must review the order. 'We continue to maintain our longstanding policy ensuring that every student can participate in sports in accordance with their gender identity,' read the schools' statement. 'As part of our ongoing commitment to serving our students and staff, we will evaluate the executive order to determine if it will have any impact on New York City Public Schools.' A spokesman for state Attorney General Letitia James, who is fighting Trump's effort to ban gender-affirming care for minors, said James wouldn't comment until the order is issued. Trump signed the order on National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which was started in 1987 as a way to celebrate female athletes and inspire girls to participate in sports. Trump and his allies claim that permitting transgender women to compete in women's and girl's sports is unfair to their competitors and promotes leftist 'gender ideology.' LGBTQ advocates say it's simply allowing people to participate in sports using the gender they identify as. The order 'exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don't fit a narrow view of how they're supposed to dress or look,' said Kelley Robinson of the Human Rights Campaign, which backs LGBTQ rights. Title IX is best known for its role in pursuing gender equity and inclusion in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses. But Trump aims to use it as a tool to keep transgender women off the playing fields. It's unclear how many people Trump's order will actually affect. The number of transgender athletes competing in school and college sports is thought to be minuscule. The order is just the latest in a rapid-fire series of orders issued by Trump to roll back transgender rights, a stance that polls say is backed by a majority of Americans. Trump put out a sweeping order on his first day in office mandating that the federal government will recognize all people as either male or female, a status he said must match their gender at birth. The gender must be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments. He also banned transgender troops from serving in the military, ending a policy of inclusion promulgated by former President Joe Biden. Last week, federal agencies ordered workers to remove their preferred pronouns from their email signatures. _____ _____
