Written by AP National Writer WILL GRAVES
The future of transgender athletes was one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most well-liked campaign talking points.
In the months and weeks leading up to the election, Trump brought up the subject several times, implying during his rallies that preventing men from participating in women’s sports would be one of his second term’s objectives. Spending millions on advertising made a problem that only impacts a small percentage of rivals into a wedge issue.
According to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide, the vast majority of Trump supporters and more than half of voters overall believe that support for transgender rights in society and government has gone too far.
It’s uncertain exactly what Trump will do when he takes office on January 20. Although the president-elect stated during his campaign that the procedure would be simple, his transition team has not provided any details.
It may be in some respects. It might be even murkier in others.
What did Trump say during the campaign?
A great deal. It seems that Trump saw the debate over the rights of transgender individuals in general and trans athletes in particular as one that could attract support and attention beyond his typical constituency.
Trump frequently used terminology on gender identity that is seen damaging and incorrect by LGBTQ+ advocates. Additionally, despite the fact that both Li Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria were assigned female at birth and identify as women, he incorrectly classified two Olympic female boxers as men and said that their participation in the Paris Games was insulting to women.
At an October event in Madison Square Garden, Trump stepped up his rhetoric as election day drew near. He told the crowd, “We will keep men out of women’s sports and we will get… transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”
What are the presidential powers in this area?
Trump declared on Day 1 that he will stop providing federal funds to any school that exposes our children to unacceptable racial, sexual, or political content, such as transgender craziness or critical race theory.
This has multiple facets, but the most pressing one is his administration’s interpretation of Title IX, the law most recognized for its efforts to prohibit sexual harassment on college campuses and promote gender parity in athletics.
It is within the power of each government to interpret the historic law in its own way. The push-pull dynamic is demonstrated by the last two presidential administrations, including Trump’s first.
The 2020 Title IX regulation, which was published by Betsy DeVos, the education secretary during Trump’s first term, limited the scope of sexual harassment and mandated that universities look into allegations only if they were reported to specific officials.
In April, the Biden administration reversed that policy with a new one that established expanded protections for victims of sexual assault on campuses and said that the rights of LGBTQ+ students would be protected by federal law. Transgender athletes were not specifically addressed by the policy. However, the new rule was promptly challenged in court by more than half a dozen states governed by Republicans.
Trump may once more change how the Title IXsports rule is perceived and applied.
Trump’s only statement, according to Duke Law School professor Doriane Lambelet Coleman, is, “We are going to read the regulation traditionally.”
What s the difference between sex and gender and how would it affect Title IX?
Sex was defined by the government as the gender a person was assigned at birth under the first Trump administration.
In order to safeguard trans athletes from discrimination if they wish to play a sport that corresponds with their gender identity rather than the sex they were assigned at birth, the Biden administration decided to interpret sex as gender identity under Title IX.
It is generally anticipated that Trump will revert the definition of sex to the sex assigned at birth.
How many transgender athletes are actively competing?
That figure is debatable.
While NCAA president Charlie Baker testified in Congress on Tuesday that he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender, the NCAA does not keep track of data on transgender athletes among the 544,000 currently competing on 19,000 teams at various levels across the nation.
Only 5% of high school students surveyed by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 2019 reported playing a sport that matched their gender identity.
The arithmetic may be simpler if done at a macro level. According to a Williams Institute survey from 2022, around 300,000 high school kids (ages 13 to 17) identified as transgender. It is unknown how many of the youths do sports, but it is probably a very small percentage.
From Lia Thomas swimming for the University of Pennsylvania to the recently finished season of the San Jose State volleyball team, any instance of a transgender athlete competing—or simply thought to be competing—attracts a lot of attention.
What are the rules at the high school level?
States differ in this regard. A law that effectively prevents transgender athletes from competing in the category that corresponds with their gender identity has been passed in about half of the states.
According to an AP investigation from 2021, states that were considering banning transgender sports frequently were unable to provide examples of situations in which their involvement was problematic. Only one transgender girl participating in K–12 sports in Utah would be impacted by the restriction when state lawmakers overrode Governor Spencer Cox’s veto in 2022. Transgender guys were not subject to any restrictions on participation.
According to Purdue University professor Cheryl Cooky, who focuses on the interaction of gender, sports, media, and society, this is a solution seeking a problem.
What about collegiately?
Before being allowed to play on a women’s team, trans athletes who were designated male at birth must undergo at least a year of testosterone suppression treatment, according to a 2010 NCAA regulation. Transgender athletes who were assigned female at birth and changed their gender can play on the men’s team, but they cannot compete on the women’s squad if they have had testosterone treatment.
At different times over a season, the competitors must meet the documented testosterone levels required by their chosen sport.
The NCAA updated the rule in 2022 in what it described as an effort to harmonize with national sports governing organizations (NGBs). The international body that regulates the sport takes control if the NGB does not have a trans-athlete policy. The previously defined Olympic policy criteria would be applied in the absence of a worldwide federation policy.
In certain sports, like swimming, the NCAA’s choice to push things up to the NGBs proved to be more restrictive. A policy introduced by World Aquatics in 2023 only allows transgender athletes to compete in women s races if the athlete can prove they have not experienced any part of male puberty.
At the NCAA level, that is. In institutions that participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the situation is much more clear-cut. Earlier this year, the NAIA’s Council of Presidents unanimously decided to exclude transgender athletes from participating.
And how about the Olympic level?
By letting the international federations handle each sport, the IOC has effectively deferred responsibility.
However, when a new IOC president takes over for retiring Thomas Bach, that might alter.
One of the candidates running in March is Sebastian Coe, a former track star who is currently the head of World Athletics. Coe has been an ardent supporter of restricting participation to women who identify as cisgender.
What might the future look like?
As the state-by-state map on transgender athletes reflects what access to abortion looks like after Dobbs, the immediate future is expected to be unstable.Democrats have disagreed on how to approach the issue.
Another version of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which was suggested in 2021 and 2023, might be introduced by a Republican-led Congress.The 2023 version of the law, which would forbid participation in women’s or girls’ programs by those whose biological sex at birth was male, passed the House but was not put to a vote in the Senate.
Given the intense debate around transgender athletes, the topic may gain attention soon. Republicans now have a small majority in the Senate and fall short of the 60-vote threshold required for approval. It might occur at the same time as Maryland Democrat Sarah McBride becomes the first openly transgender member of Congress.
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This report was written by Graham Dunbar, an AP Sports Writer.
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