USA Rugby has announced a revolutionary \u2018open\u2019 category, which will allow trans athletes to continue competing in the sport.<\/p>\n
This follows President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> \u2018Keeping Men Out of Women\u2019s Sports\u2019 executive order, which has banned biological men from competing in female sports.<\/p>\n The executive order is designed to protect female athletes and to provide a fairer sporting landscape. The idea with the \u2018open\u2019 category is that any athlete can enter, regardless of biological orientation at birth or otherwise.<\/p>\n The order, which was published on February 5, 2025, reads as follows: \u2018In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women\u2019s sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.<\/p>\n \u2018Moreover, under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX), educational institutions receiving Federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports.\u00a0 As some Federal courts have recognized, \u201cignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities.\u201d \u00a0Tennessee v. Cardona, 24-cv-00072 at 73 (E.D. Ky. 2024).\u00a0See also\u00a0Kansas v. U.S. Dept. of Education, 24-cv-04041 at 23 (D. Kan. 2024) (highlighting \u201cCongress\u2019 goals of protecting biological women in education\u201d).<\/p>\n \u2018Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women\u2019s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.\u2019<\/p>\n Ex-Wales boss beats Jake White and another South African to URC head coach job<\/a><\/p>\n United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee response<\/p>\n This order follows World Rugby\u2019s decision in 2020 to ban transgender athletes<\/a> from competing in women\u2019s rugby due to \u2018the size, force and power-producing advantages conferred by testosterone during puberty and adolescence, and the resultant player welfare risks this creates.\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that transgender athletes can still compete against women in many non-World Rugby-sanctioned competitions, including the Bingham Cup<\/a>, which is unofficially referred to as the \u2018Gay Rugby World Cup\u2019.<\/p>\n The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee have ordered all governing bodies to comply with Trump\u2019s order, and USA Rugby\u2019s new category comes as a likely result.<\/p>\n