US Olympic team to comply with Trump’s ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ executive order

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) updated its policies to suggest it will comply with President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. 

The USOPC’s transgender eligibility policy page now includes a note that reads, “As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy.”

That policy does not lay out any clear guidelines regarding trans inclusion in women’s sports. However, it does include one paragraph that directly cites President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order.

“USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities… to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201,” the policy reads. 

“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes wrote in a letter. “Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.”

The U.S. will host the Summer Olympics in 2028.

USA Fencing was one of the first US Olympic organizations to publicly announce it has updated its gender eligibility policy to comply with the USOPC’s new guidance.

USA Fencing addressed the new policy in a public statement, claiming that the change came in response to new guidelines released by the USOPC. 

“On July 18, 2025, the USOPC released new athlete-safety guidelines that all national governing bodies must follow under a federal executive order issued by the president earlier this year. In response, USA Fencing will implement the updated Transgender & Non-Binary Participation Policy that was first published and shared with the fencing community on April 15, 2025. This policy will be effective Aug. 1, 2025, for every sanctioned competition,” the statement reads. 

“We remain firmly committed to respect, fairness and athlete well-being. This update, mandated by the USOPC, aligns our sport with current national standards while keeping community support at the forefront.”

USA Gymnastics told Fox News Digital in June that it was “assessing” its gender eligibility policy after deleting a webpage outlining its previous policy. 

“In May, USAG removed its policy to assess compliance with the current legal landscape,” a spokesperson said. 

That organization came under heavy public scrutiny after Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles ignited a viral feud with former NCAA swimmer and conservative activist Riley Gaines on social media over the issue of trans athlete inclusion. Biles suggested Gaines was the same size as “a male” in an X post, prompting immense criticism. 

USA Track and Field (USATF) official transgender eligibility policy now references the World Athletics guidelines on its official webpage. 

USATF previously referenced the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s policy, as seen in an archive via Wayback Machine, which had fewer restrictions on males competing in women’s sports. 

The old USATF policy page was online as recent as March, but came under criticism after a 21-year-old male trans athlete defeated multiple teenage girls at a USATF event in New York on March 1. 

USA Fencing has been, arguably, the most scrutinized USOPC governing body in its 2025 string of controversies.

The organization announced in late April that it was preparing to change its gender-eligibility policy to ensure that the women’s category would be “open exclusively to athletes of the female sex.” The new official policy does not include the “exclusively” language that was used in April’s proposal. 

USA Fencing has declined to clarify to Fox News Digital if the new policy explicitly prevents all biological males from competing in women’s events. USA Fencing also declined to specify how it will enforce the new policy, whether mandatory sex testing will be implemented or whether it will accept amended birth certificates as proof of birth sex. 

WHO IS STEPHANIE TURNER? WOMEN’S FENCER WHO KNELT TO PROTEST TRANS OPPONENT AND IGNITED GLOBAL AWARENESS

USA Fencing has been under a national microscope for its gender eligibility policy since April 2, when footage of women’s fencer Stephanie Turner kneeling to protest a trans opponent at a competition in Maryland went viral. Turner was disqualified and given a black card for her refusal to face the trans opponent, prompting mass backlash against USA Fencing. 

The controversy was then the subject of a federal hearing on May 7. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee’s “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” saw Turner testify against USA Fencing chair Damien Lehfeldt. 

In early June, USA Fencing’s board of directors voted to amend its previous policy that prioritized states with LGBTQ-friendly laws for host sites for competitions and a policy that may have prevented the playing of the national anthem at some events. Both of those policies were also highly criticized in the aftermath of Turner’s viral protest. 

Then, the very next week, two USA Fencing board of directors members filed a lawsuit against the other six at-large members, alleging Lehfeldt made false statements to Congress at the May 7 hearing. The plaintiffs, Andrey Geva and Abdel Salem, each have long ties to the sport and organization, previously coaching or competing for Team USA. 

USA Fencing acknowledged the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“USA Fencing proudly serves its members – athletes, coaches, referees and clubs – across our community with absolute transparency and integrity. This derivative lawsuit misrepresents our organization, and we will vigorously defend the organization in court; any attempt to disparage them will be addressed appropriately,” the statement read.

“Because litigation is ongoing, we cannot discuss details. Our focus remains unwavering: advancing fencing nationwide, supporting every member’s success, and upholding the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movement.”

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