United States President Donald Trump declared the ‘war on women’s sports over’ by signing an executive order to prevent transgender athletes from competing in the female categories.
The order provides guidance, regulations and legal interpretations, enlisting the Department of Education to investigate high schools thought to be non-compliant.
Trump’s party said that the move restores fairness to the sport, with LGBT advocacy and human rights organizations describing it as discriminatory.
The order goes into effect immediately, covering high school, universities and grassroots sports.
Earlier, governing bodies for swimming, athletics, and golf, had already banned transgender from competing in the female category events.
“If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump explained.
The White House has planned to bring in sporting bodies like the NCAA to visit the center to discuss female athletes and their parents to discuss concerns.
USA are also in line to ban transgender athletes from competing against females in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) competitions that take place on US soil.
IOC is still to comment on the matter.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said that the order “exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look”.
“For so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong,” Ms Robinson added. “Not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”