President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday at the White House that bars transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports, just months after the San Jose State women’s volleyball team found itself in the middle of a national firestorm on the issue.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said.
Trump’s order, entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure universities and other entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender people are assigned at birth. The action mirrors similar moves in conservative states over the last several years, even as known instances of transgender participation in women’s sports are extremely rare.
In response to Trump’s order, San Jose State issued a statement, saying it “maintains an unwavering commitment to the wellness, safety and privacy of our students, faculty and staff and to fostering a supportive and caring environment for all.”
The university was at the center of the transgender debate in sports last fall when Brooke Slusser, co-captain of the women’s volleyball team, joined a lawsuit in September accusing the NCAA of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
In the lawsuit, Slusser said one of her teammates was transgender and contended she had a physical advantage over teammates and opponents. Slusser also said she was not informed her teammate was transgender despite travel accommodations placing them together. The Bay Area News Group has not named the student because she has not publicly confirmed her status.
San Jose State defended itself throughout the fall, saying that all of its athletes were eligible under NCAA and Mountain West rules. An emergency court order in November seeking to prevent the San Jose State player from participating in the Mountain West tournament was denied by a federal judge, and the Spartans reached the conference championship match before falling to Colorado State.
Numerous teams forfeited matches against San Jose State, including Boise State in the conference semifinals.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Wednesday that the organization would review and align with the order.
“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions, Baker said. “To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.”
Baker also noted that the NCAA would assist schools in supporting athletes affected by the change.
Trump signed the order on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It authorizes the Education Department to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing noncompliance with Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools. Any school found in violation could lose federal funding.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the order “upholds the promise of Title IX” and will require “immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations” that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.
Advocates for the rights of transgender athletes, who under USA Volleyball rules were already required to suppress testosterone for at least 12 months before participation, decried the action Wednesday, pointing to the small number of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.
At San Jose State, assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose parted ways with the program in early November, telling the conservative website OutKick that she was suspended indefinitely. Although the school did not say why Batie-Smoose was no longer with the team, the separation came after the assistant coach filed a Title IX complaint accusing San Jose State of giving the alleged transgender player preferential treatment.
Last weekend, during an interview on Fox News, Batie-Smoose supported Trump’s actions on the issue.
“The laws [have to] change and the NCAA has to make those changes necessary so that we save women’s sports and that we continue to have women’s sports,” she told Fox & Friends Weekend host Charlie Hurt.
Batie-Smoose added during the interview that she was “let go” by San Jose State.
The Associated Press reported in 2021 that in many cases, the states introducing bans on transgender athletes could not cite instances where their participation was an issue. Orange County Republican Kate Sanchez last month introduced a bill to the State Assembly that would ban trans girls from high school girls athletics. The longshot bill’s fate was made immaterial by Trump’s action Wednesday.
“This is a solution looking for a problem,” Cheryl Cooky, a professor at Purdue University who studies the intersection of gender, sports, media and culture, told the AP after Trump was elected.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.