US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has quietly rewritten its eligibility rules to bar male born athletes from women’s events, citing President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201 Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.The 27 page update pledges to “ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment” in line with the order and the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. Committee officials said the change followed “respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” after Trump signed the directive on February 5..UPDATED: Autopsy confirms Montreal girl drowned, father charged with murder, felt 'tied down'.The policy never uses the word “transgender,” yet its effect is clear.Men are now excluded from female divisions at every level overseen by the US committee. National sport federations from swimming to fencing to judo have already begun rewriting their own bylaws to match the new requirement..Advocates for women’s sport hailed the decision as overdue protection. Critics, including the National Women’s Law Center, accused the committee of bowing to political pressure and warned the ban could violate international guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A spokesperson for the IOC said it will “continue discussions” with American officials ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Italy and the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028..Premiers push for provincial work permits as federal immigration talks stall.Controversy over men’s eligibility in women’s sports has been going on for years. At the 2024 Paris Games, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who had failed previous gender tests, dominated the women’s welterweight class and took gold, fuelling calls for clearer rules. .In 2021, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first trans-identifying man to compete in the women’s Olympic field, though Hubbard did not return to Paris. US BMX reserve Chelsea Wolfe, another male born athlete, also drew headlines in Tokyo.Public opinion appears to back Trump’s stance..Parks Canada revokes permit for MAGA supporting Christian artist's concert over ‘safety’ concerns.An NBC News poll released this week found 75% of Americans oppose letting trans-identifying men compete against women, including two-thirds of Generation Z respondents.For now, the US committee says its focus is simple, which is safeguard fairness for female competitors. Whether the rest of the world agrees remains to be seen.
