President Trump has ordered that transgender athletes cannot compete in girls’ and women’s sports. The executive order is Trump’s fourth placing limits on the rights of transgender people since taking office. The president signed the order Wednesday. He was surrounded by dozens of cheering female athletes and their parents. The order is titled the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order.” Trans people are those who identify as a gender different from their assigned sex at birth. “With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said. Trump officials maintain that the order protects women's access to a safe and fair playing field as secured in Title IX. That's a law added to the Civil Rights Act in 1972. Among other things, Title IX affords equal opportunity for women in sports. Charlie Baker said the NCAA would comply with the order. He is the president of the NCAA. It's the governing body of college sports. A number of states had passed laws concerning transgender athletes. That has confused the issue for many players and parents. Baker said Trump’s order “provides a clear, national standard.” Advocates for trans people spoke out against Trump’s order. They say it could lead to harassment. The order could lead “people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look,” Holly Robinson wrote. She leads the Human Rights Campaign. Reflect: How do you think rules about fairness in sports or other activities should be decided? Photo of President Trump from Reuters.
