‘Obligation to comply' with Trump: US Olympic, Paralympic officials bar transgender women
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
Concerns Thai-Cambodia ceasefire may not stop fighting, as displaced residents fear going home
On Cambodia's north-western border with Thailand, some displaced residents staying in makeshift shelters are still waiting to head home despite the signing of a ceasefire that mostly stopped five days of intense clashes between the two countries. At least 38 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 300,000 people displaced during the fighting. The two neighbours agreed to an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire at a meeting in Malaysia on Monday, effective from midnight. The peace talks came after a sustained push by Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump, with the latter warning Thai and Cambodian leaders that trade negotiations would not progress if fighting continued. Although Thailand's military said there had been attacks by Cambodian troops in at least five locations early on Tuesday, violating the ceasefire that had come into effect from midnight, commanders from both sides met and held talks, a Thai army spokesperson said. Cambodia denied the charge, insisting that its troops had strictly abided by the ceasefire since midnight and continued to uphold it, according to a statement by Defence Minister Tea Seiha. At the refugee camp, residents were still wary. "I really wanted to return home but I dare not go now yet," said Seun Ruot, a 47-year-old housewife. "I'd rather wait until later today or tomorrow to see what the situation looks like." Greg Raymond, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at ANU's Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, said there was a "decent chance" there would be more clashes on the border, which follows a tall escarpment. Dr Raymond said the previous border conflict between 2008 and 2011 was marked by a pattern of violence punctuated by agreements and ceasefires followed by more shooting. "I think the most we can be is cautiously optimistic," he said. Lowy Institute South-East Asia program director Susannah Patton agreed that more fighting was likely. Ms Patton said the ceasefire was brought about by international pressure from a range of sources, including from within ASEAN, as well as the US and China. However, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia were under strong domestic pressure from their fiercely nationalistic populations not to appear weak or to be making concessions to the other side, Ms Patton said. "It's definitely positive that there is a ceasefire, but I'm not too confident about whether or not it will hold simply because I think there are still going to be incentives for both sides to continue this conflict, albeit at a low level," she said. "I don't think either side is willing to escalate it to become a major war, but I think if we look also at the pattern of how things unfolded in 2008 to 2011, it did drag on for quite some time there." One of the measures proposed during the ceasefire negotiations was independent international observers. However, Dr Raymond said this was unlikely to be acceptable to Thailand — or at least its politically powerful military. "Thailand has a track record of not really allowing these sorts of situations to be internationalised," he said. "It didn't allow peacekeepers in, even though their foreign minister had agreed, in 2011 — the Thai military refused to implement that. "So, I think there's still some way to go before we actually see that happen." The decades-long border dispute between the two South-East Asian neighbours has been escalating since late May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a skirmish and both countries began reinforcing troops along their 800-kilometre border. Both sides accused the other of starting last week's fighting. Ms Patton said the situation on the ground at the border remained unclear. "So, there isn't good reporting on whether either side has made sort of important tactical gains, but I think the assumption is that no, there hasn't been a lot achieved by either side," she said. Dr Raymond said that following the flurry of violence — which included shelling and Thai jets launching air strikes — it appeared to be "back to the status quo". He said it appeared some of the infrastructure had been destroyed around Preah Vihear — a significant Cambodian-controlled temple on top of the escarpment — and the temple itself had also suffered some damage. "If anything, I think Cambodia may be in a slightly worse position than it was," he said. ABC/Reuters
AU Financial Review
18 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
Setback for Australia-EU trade talks after Trump's tariff twist
Canberra's hopes for a swift conclusion to free trade negotiations with the European Union have vanished, just as Donald Trump has indicated that the minimum 10 per cent import tariff he imposed on all Australian goods could be lifted to 15 or 20 per cent. After negotiations between Australia and the EU collapsed in October 2023, the parties rekindled talks in June this year as both sought insurance against the impact of Trump's global trade war.
7NEWS
18 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
US President Donald Trump ‘never had the privilege' of visiting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's island
US President Donald Trump says he 'never had the privilege' of visiting Jeffrey Epstein's island, saying he turned down an invitation from the convicted sex offender in what the president called a moment of good judgment. Trump's remarks were his latest effort to distance himself from the political furore over his administration's handling of files related to Epstein's case and renewed questions over his past relationship with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. 'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down,' Trump told reporters during a trip to Scotland. 'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down.' Epstein owned a private island in the US Virgin Islands where he entertained prominent people from politics, business and entertainment. Prosecutors have alleged he used the compound to conceal the sex trafficking and abuse of under-age victims. Trump, who socialised with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, also offered new insight into why their relationship ended. The US president said he cut ties after Epstein attempted to recruit staff who worked for Trump. 'He hired help. And I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He stole people that work for me,' Trump said. 'He did it again. And I threw him out of the place persona non grata.' Last week, White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump had cut ties with Epstein because he regarded him as a 'creep'. The White House has been under growing pressure from Trump's supporters and political opponents to release more information about the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein. After Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year promised to release additional materials related to possible Epstein clients and the circumstances surrounding his death, the Justice Department reversed course this month and issued a memo concluding there was no basis to continue investigating and no evidence of a client list. Those findings sparked an angry outcry from some of Trump's supporters who have long believed the government was covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful. Trump's efforts to deflect attention from the case have so far faltered. On Monday, the president again called the story 'a hoax'. 'It's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion,' Trump said, saying Democrats controlled the Epstein files for several years and would have used them against him during the last presidential election if there was anything in them. Trump flew with Epstein aboard his plane at least six times, according to logs for flights spanning from 1991 through 2005. None of those trips were to Epstein's private island. Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
