Latest news with #UnitedStatesOlympic&ParalympicCommittee
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump signs order aimed at curbing big-money college sports payouts
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump waded into a debate over the influence of big-money payouts in college sports on Thursday, signing an executive order adding federal government scrutiny to the practice. The order, which is expected to face legal challenges, seeks to block some recruiting payments by third parties like donors to college athletes in big-dollar sports like football and men's basketball in order to preserve funds available for women's and non-revenue sports. Though the practice is already forbidden by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, some donors have found ways to bypass the rules to recruit top talent with lucrative offers. The policy is not aimed at fair-market compensation to athletes for brand endorsements, the White House said. The order also pushes colleges to raise scholarship payments for non-revenue sports and directs U.S. officials to start "clarifying" the legal status of student-athletes. Trump's directive could lead to changes in school budgets as well as the multimillion-dollar market for U.S. college athletes, and it could lead to limitations on payouts or employment rights for those athletes. Yet how exactly the policy will be enforced is still to be determined. Under the order, federal officials will develop a plan to deliver on Trump's order using "all available and appropriate regulatory, enforcement, and litigation mechanisms," including their funding power over states, colleges and universities. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly tried to intervene in actions by sports leagues, colleges and universities. A February executive order aimed to bar transgender women from competing in women's sports. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee implemented such a ban this week, citing the order. Trump has also targeted elite universities' federal funding over topics including pro-Palestinian student protests. Columbia University on Wednesday said it would pay over $200 million in a settlement to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. The NCAA, which governs U.S. sports in higher education, had long prohibited student-athletes from receiving compensation for athletics outside of scholarships in a bid to preserve the amateurism of college sports and keep the playing field fair for recruiting. But in June 2021, the organization approved an interim policy allowing college athletes to make money by selling their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. The policy allowed student athletes to make money through activities such as signing autographs, endorsing products or businesses, and making personal appearances so long as the activities were legal in the state where the school was located. In March 2025, the NCAA agreed to permanently eliminate its rule that prohibited student athletes from negotiating NIL deals before enrolling in a school. The change came a day after a legal settlement between the NCAA and a group of state attorneys general who had sued the organization, arguing that the restriction violated federal antitrust law. The changes in recent years on NIL payments, the White House said, "has created a chaotic environment that threatens the financial and structural viability of college athletics." Michael LeRoy, a University of Illinois labor and employment relations professor, said the order would likely be challenged as unconstitutional. "The fact that players want to have the same rights under antitrust law that everybody else has is not a problem," he said. The problem, he said, is that the NCAA and athletic conferences that govern top sports "have stubbornly refused to grant employment status and collective bargaining to athletes." In a statement, NCAA President Charlie Baker said it was grateful for the administration's focus on the issue and said that new legislation may be necessary to address problems facing college sports. "There are some threats to college sports that federal legislation can effectively address and the Association is advocating with student-athletes and their schools for a bipartisan solution with Congress and the Administration," he said.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
US Olympic & Paralympic Committee bars transgender women from competing in women's sports
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has updated its policy to align with an executive order signed earlier this year by U.S. President Donald Trump barring transgender women from competing in women's sports. 'The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act,' the USOPC said in an update to its Athlete Safety Policy. The USOPC did not respond to a request for comment on the change. USOPC President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland referenced Trump's executive order in a memo to the Team USA community sent out this week, ABC News reported, which said, 'As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.' ALSO READ: Janeth Chepngetich books World Athletics Championships spot after winning women's 10,000m at Kenya trials Trump signed the 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' order in February in a bid to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports, a directive that supporters said will restore fairness, but critics argue it infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes. The order directs the Department of Justice to make sure all government agencies enforce a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump's interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education. Trump's order goes beyond high school and college sports, calling for the U.S. government to deny visas for transgender females seeking to compete in the United States. Trump also said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The executive order instructed the State Department to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to change its policy, which allows trans athletes to compete under general guidance, preventing any athlete from gaining an unfair advantage. The order is expected to affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 530,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US Olympic officials bar transgender women from women's competitions
US President Donald Trump invites young female athletes as he signs No Men in Women's Sports Executive Order on Feb 5. NEW YORK – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) quietly changed its eligibility rules on July 21 to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women's sports, and now will comply with President Donald Trump's executive order on the issue. The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of 'USOPC Athlete Safety Policy' on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word 'transgender' or the title of Trump's executive order, 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports', referring to it instead as 'Executive Order 14201'. The committee's new policy means that the national governing bodies of sports federations in the United States now must follow the USOPC's lead, according to several chief executives of sports within the Olympic movement. Those national governing bodies oversee many, but not all, events in Olympic sports for all ages, from youth to masters' competitions. In a letter sent by email to the 'Team USA Community', the committee acknowledged on July 22 that its policy had changed. The letter, from Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC's CEO, and Gene Sykes, the president, said the committee had held 'a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials' since the executive order was signed. 'As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,' the letter said, adding that the committee would work with the national governing bodies to implement the new policy. USA Fencing was among the first of the national governing bodies to post a new policy for transgender athletes. Its new policy will take effect on Aug 1. Those new rules still allow transgender women to compete, but only in the men's category. The rule changes come after the sport was thrust into an uncomfortable spotlight this year when a female fencer declined to compete against her transgender opponent at a midlevel meet. The moment went viral and led to a congressional hearing about transgender women competing in women's sports. 'I'm not going to try to oppose the USOPC because I understand that they've been put in an impossible situation by the administration,' said Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing. 'We essentially have no choice but to change the rules because once the USOPC says, 'This is now the policy of all of our NGBs', we all have to follow it.' Andrews added that it was unclear how the new policy would play out in states such as Minnesota and California, which are defying Mr Trump's ban on transgender women competing in the women's category. How the entire policy will unfold, from sport to sport, and state to state, is uncertain, too. Some sports could add an 'open' category, available to anyone, or a mixed gender category to accommodate the change, Andrews said. The USOPC was spare in its explanation. Its new policy said that it was 'committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport', and that it would work with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the national governing bodies of every Olympic sport 'to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201'. Before the new 'Athlete Safety' policy was posted, the committee had stayed away from taking a bold stance on the issue of transgender women competing in the women's division, trying to carefully navigate the politics of the matter as the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles inched closer. Instead, it had delegated decisions about transgender athlete eligibility to the national governing bodies of each sport. The USOPC has 54 member organizations, according to its website. The IOC, meanwhile, has been struggling for years with the issue of transgender and intersex athletes in sports, coming up with various rules at various times, in an effort to balance fairness with inclusivity. Its current policy allows each international sports federation – World Athletics or the International Cycling Federation, for example – to determine if, and how, transgender athletes can compete in sanctioned events at the international level. But several leaders in the Olympic movement said on July 22 that they were expecting the IOC's rules for transgender athletes to change now that the organization had a new leader, Kirsty Coventry. During her campaign for president, Coventry had pledged to protect women in sports, and that included possibly barring transgender women from competing in the women's category. NYTIMES
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
US Olympic & Paralympic Committee bars transgender women from competing in women's sports
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has updated its policy to align with an executive order signed earlier this year by US President Donald Trump barring transgender women from competing in women's sports. "The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act," the USOPC said in an update to its Athlete Safety Policy. The USOPC did not respond to a request for comment on the change. USOPC President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland referenced Trump's executive order in a memo to the Team USA community sent out this week, ABC News reported, which said, "As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations." Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" order in February in a bid to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports, a directive that supporters said will restore fairness but critics argue it infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes. The order directs the Department of Justice to make sure all government agencies enforce a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump's interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education. Trump's order goes beyond high school and college sports, calling for the US government to deny visas for transgender females seeking to compete in the United States. Trump also said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The executive order instructed the State Department to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to change its policy, which allows trans athletes to compete under general guidance preventing any athlete from gaining an unfair advantage. The order is expected to affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 530,000 competing at 1,100 member schools. —Reuters
The Star
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Olympics-Felix, Williams headline USOPC Hall of Fame class
FILE PHOTO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Women's 4 x 400m Relay - Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 7, 2021. Allyson Felix of the United States celebrates after winning gold REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -Track's most decorated female Olympian Allyson Felix and tennis's 23-times major winner Serena Williams headline the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee's 2025 Hall of Fame class announced on Tuesday. The pair were inducted along with gymnastic trailblazer Gabby Douglas and alpine skier Bode Miller. Felix won 11 medals, including seven golds, in an Olympic career that spanned five Games and became an advocate for working mothers and Black maternal healthcare after experiencing life-threatening complications during her pregnancy in 2018. Serena Williams and her sister, Venus, formed the most successful doubles team in Olympic history with three golds in 2000, 2008 and 2012, and Williams added a singles gold in London, as well. "This induction celebrates not only their remarkable performances and lasting impact but also acknowledges the essential contributions of those who supported their journeys every step of the way," USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement. Other inductees included three-time Olympic champion Douglas, the first Black woman to win gymnastics' all-around Olympic gold medal, and Miller, who earned gold in the super combined in Vancouver and picked up four more world championship golds. (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
