US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender girls and women from women's sports, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The order directs the Justice Department to ban biological men who identify as girls and women from participating in women's high school and college sports.
“The war on women's sports is over“, Trump said at the signing ceremony, with dozens of women and girls lining up behind him.“My administration will not stand by and watch as men beat and maul female athletes“, he added.
The order, which is likely to face legal challenges, challenges, calls for “immediate implementation“ across the country. She threatens to cut off federal funding to any school that allows biological males to participate in sports competitions designed for women.
The order will affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association told a Senate committee in December that he knew of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 520,000 who compete at 1,100 member schools.
The issue, however, is with voters, who have reacted enthusiastically when Trump has mentioned bans on transgender athletes at his campaign rallies.
Public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans oppose transgender people competing in sports that align with their gender identity.