Latest news with #USOlympicandParalympicCommittee
Sky News AU
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘War on women's sports is over': Trump's trans sports ban calls for Australia to follow
The Opposition has called for the Australian Olympic Committee to follow the US and ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee ordered sporting bodies to comply with US President Donald Trump's executive order, which he made earlier this year, keeping men out of women's sports. This move follows controversies from last year's Olympics.
Sky News AU
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Liberal senator Claire Chandler calls for Australia to follow US Olympic and Paralympic Committee in barring transgender athletes from competition
Liberal Senator Claire Chandler has called for the Australian Olympic Committee to follow the United States' lead and ban transgender athletes from competition. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) quietly updated its eligibility rules on Monday, slipping into its 27-page Athlete Safety Policy a section saying it would 'collaborate with various stakeholders… to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201'. Executive Order 14201 is more widely known as the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports order, which US President Donald Trump signed in February. In a letter to governing sporting bodies obtained by US media outlets, USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland and president Gene Sykes said the updated policy 'emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women.' 'All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment,' the letter warned. The move follows last year's Olympics controversy surrounding gold medalist boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, who are not transgender but reportedly failed prior gender eligibility tests. Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo also became the first Paralympic transgender athlete to compete last year. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics in 2021. Senator Chandler welcomed the move by USOPC, calling on the Australian committee to take similar steps. 'The Australian Olympic Committee should be doing what all sporting organisations around the world are doing and recognising that female athletes want to have their sporting categories protected,' Senator Chandler said. 'I'm very glad to see sporting organisations finally recognising the need to protect female-only sport, but frankly speaking, it's taken far too long to get to this point. 'We know that World Athletics, World Swimming, World Rugby, all these peak international sporting organisations over the last five years have realised that women's sport needs protecting. It is well past time that Australian sporting organisations start doing exactly the same thing.' The Liberal called for her parliamentary colleagues to revive her failed Save Women's Sports bill, a private member's bill she introduced in 2022. 'My Save Women's Sports bill is just as relevant now as it was three or four years ago, when I first introduced it to the parliament, and it's ridiculous that women and girls in Australia don't have a legal right to their own sport,' Senator Chandler said. 'That bill is still there and if anyone - government, Coalition, crossbench - wants to pick that bill up and try and get it through the parliament, I think that would be a very useful conversation for us as a parliament to have.' While some sporting bodies including swimming, athletics and cycling have banned transgender participating in international women's competitions, others have been more inclusive. Women's Forum Australia head of advocacy Stephanie Bastiaan said it's 'common sense' for all sporting bodies to reform their policies based on women's sex-based rights. 'We know that women are being injured, we know that they're losing spots at the Olympics and in these categories due to the fact these sporting bodies are not protecting them on the basis of biological sex and I think that they need to put their foot down and make sure that it happens,' Ms Bastiaan said. 'This is a great outcome for girls in the US. The Trump administration is to be commended for its proactive approach in protecting women's sport. 'We need the Australian government to follow suit, bringing in legislative reforms that mandate sporting bodies protect the female category on the basis of biological sex, so that all girls - regardless of whether they're playing at a community, state or elite level - have the right to a safe, fair and equal playing field.' Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said Australian sporting bodies including the AOC had been navigating the issues around transgender inclusion in a 'sensible and practical way'. 'We hope they continue to prioritise inclusion and only restrict participation where there is a clear risk to safety or fairness,' Ms Brown said. She said given the 'tiny number of trans athletes playing in any sport', a case-by-case approach remained feasible and the most effective way to protect individual rights over 'blunt and harmful blanket bans'. 'Sporting organisations across Australia have worked hard to include trans women and to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and can participate safely and fairly,' Ms Brown said. 'As recently as 2023, after extensive consultation and research, the Australian Institute of Sport found there was no case for a blanket ban on trans athletes in any sport, even at the elite level. 'Its guidelines encourage sporting bodies in Australia to start from a position of inclusion and state that any restrictions must be justified on a case-by-case basis, where strength, stamina and physique are relevant, and be no more restrictive than necessary to ensure meaningful competition for everyone.' An AOC spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Japan Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
US Olympic policy change bans transgender women in women's events
US Olympic and Paralympic Committee chief executive officer Sarah Hirshland was among those who sent a letter to national governing bodies indicating US transgender women could no longer compete in women's Olympic and Paralympic events American transgender women will no longer be able to compete in women's events at the Olympics and Paralympics after a recent policy change by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). A new note on the USOPC website regarding the participation of transgender athletes in sports says: "As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy." The policy update, following US President Donald Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order, was added to the USOPC Athlete Safety Policy on its website as a new subsection entitled "Additional Requirements." "The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport," the addition reads. "The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities... to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 (Trump's order) and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act." The Stevens Act, adopted in 1988, provides a means of handling eligibility disputes for Olympic sports and other amateur events. A memo to Team USA from USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland and president Gene Sykes on Tuesday obtained by ABC News and ESPN made reference to Trump's February executive order, saying: "As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations." Trump's executive order threatens to remove federal funds from any school or institution allowing transgender girls to play on girls' teams, claiming that would violate Title IX rules giving US women equal sport opportunities. The order requires immediate enforcement against institutions that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms. "Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women," ESPN quoted the USOPC letter to governing bodies as saying. "All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment." ESPN also said the officials noted the USOPC "has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials" in the wake of Trump's executive order. The move comes as Los Angeles awaits a host role for the 2028 Summer Olympics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) also altered its policy for transgender athlete participation to limit women's sports competitors to athletes assigned female at birth after Trump's executive order. © 2025 AFP
Sydney Morning Herald
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Obligation to comply' with Trump: US Olympic, Paralympic officials bar transgender women
Colorado Springs: The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an 'obligation to comply' with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC's website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) earlier this year. The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under 'USOPC Athlete Safety Policy' and references Trump's executive order, 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' signed in February. That order, among other things, threatens to 'rescind all funds' from organisations that allow transgender athlete participation in women's sports. US Olympic officials told the national governing bodies they will need to follow suit, adding that 'the USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials' since Trump signed the order. 'As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,' USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes wrote in a letter. 'Our revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All national governing bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.' The National Women's Law Centre put out a statement condemning the move. 'By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes,' said that organisation's president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves. The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the national sports bodies.
The Age
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
‘Obligation to comply' with Trump: US Olympic, Paralympic officials bar transgender women
Colorado Springs: The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an 'obligation to comply' with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC's website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) earlier this year. The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under 'USOPC Athlete Safety Policy' and references Trump's executive order, 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' signed in February. That order, among other things, threatens to 'rescind all funds' from organisations that allow transgender athlete participation in women's sports. US Olympic officials told the national governing bodies they will need to follow suit, adding that 'the USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials' since Trump signed the order. 'As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,' USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes wrote in a letter. 'Our revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All national governing bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.' The National Women's Law Centre put out a statement condemning the move. 'By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes,' said that organisation's president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves. The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the national sports bodies.
