New Trump executive order targets transgender athletes — What it means for Oregon

Published 4:37 pm Wednesday, February 5, 2025

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday, Feb. 5, aiming to ban transgender women and girls from participating in female sports events.

The order, titled “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports,” mandates that schools and athletic associations enforce the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX rules: that sex is the gender someone was assigned at birth.

The document said it will direct state attorneys general on how to best enforce the mandates, which threaten to pull potential federal funds for any university or school in violation.

The Oregon School Activities Association, or OSAA, is the governing body of high school sports in Oregon and currently allows for transgender girls to participate in girls sports.

OSAA’s policy regarding transgender participation allows for the student-athlete to identify their gender during the sign-up process. The student is then considered under that gender for the remainder of the season.

“When a student registers for athletics or activities the student shall indicate the student’s gender during that registration process, consistent with other school enrollment procedures,” the OSAA policy states.

The OSAA policy was created in consultation with the Oregon Department of Education, along with following state and federal laws regarding inclusion.

Now, the OSAA is looking to discuss the implications of the executive order with the Education Department.

“The OSAA has been in contact with the Oregon Department of Education regarding the executive order and its impact for schools in our state,” the OSAA said through a spokesperson. “We will work to review the executive order with our legal counsel and its potential effect on current Oregon nondiscrimination law and association policy.”

The ODE said it is “actively assessing all executive orders that have been introduced and their potential impacts on Oregon.”

State lawmakers follow president’s lead

Following Trump’s signing, Oregon House Republican Leader Christine Drazen, R-Canby, introduced legislation aiming to put Oregon in line with the executive order.

According to a press release, LC 3895 would require schools to designate athletic competitions and extracurricular sports according to sex assigned at birth. The aim is to ban student-athletes who the supporters of the bill view as biological boys from competing against biological girls.

The press release also states that a survey, conducted by House Republicans, found 69% of Oregonians currently oppose the OSAA’s inclusion policy.

“Women have fought for — and earned — respect and support for themselves in sports and have made incredible gains in doing so. We must defend that progress and stand up for fairness,” Drazan said in the press release. “We can respect the dignity of every individual without endangering women in sports.”

A similar move was made on the Senate side with Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, introducing Senate Bill 618. The bill echoes the sentiments of LC 3895, aiming to keep transgender girls competing against boys.

Bonham was in attendance for Trump’s signing of the order in Washington, D.C.

“For too long, female athletes have been forced to compete on an uneven playing field,” Bonham wrote in a press release. “Oregon girls deserve the chance to compete, break records, and win championships without biological males taking their opportunities away.”

While Republicans continue to raise alarms on transgender women’s participation in sports and paint this as an effort to protect women, critics say the issue has been largely overblown.

Neither LC 3895 nor Senate Bill 618 are expected to get hearings or go to committee votes, either, due to Democrats’ control of both the House and Senate.

NCAA President Charlie Baker told Republican senators in December that of the 500,000 student-athletes across the organization’s participating members, he is aware of fewer than 10 identifying as transgender.

However, the NCAA did announced two days later that it would be following the executive order as the organization announced a ban on transwomen from competing in women’s sports.

The numbers for high school student-athletes nationally and in Oregon are unknown and difficult to count, but they are believed to be on a similarly small scale as the one seen in the NCAA.

Less than 1% of the U.S. population over the age of 13 are transgender, according to a June 2022 study by the UCLA Williams Institute. That makes the number of transgender athletes even smaller in the country.

“All kids deserve to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities with their friends. Transgender people are a very small portion of the population, and targeting transgender girls who want to play sports makes them vulnerable to isolation and bullying,” Basic Rights Oregon said in a statement regarding the latest executive order. “Furthermore, this (executive order) cannot be enforced without investigations by the federal government, which puts all families’ and kids’ privacy at risk.

“That said, we have yet to see if this EO will even be functional, as so many other efforts from the President have already been blocked or delayed. Regardless, Basic Rights Oregon is here to fight for the LGBTQ+ community, and our state government is poised to fight back.”

Last year, a student-athlete in Oregon made national headlines due to their participation in girls track, prompting Republican leaders in the state to call on the OSAA to change its policy.

In response, the OSAA stood by its policy.

“The OSAA, under the guidance of our member schools, creates and implements policies that comply with federal and state laws, including laws that are intended to keep our students safe and free from discrimination,” OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber wrote in response. “Over the years, legislative directives from Oregon legislators have prompted the OSAA to adopt rules and policies that incorporate those directives.”

Currently the OSAA is in the middle of the winter sports season, which includes boys and girls basketball, boys and girls wrestling, boys and girls swimming, and cheerleading, which is co-ed.

State cheerleading competitions are set for Feb. 14-15 at Oregon City High School, followed by state swimming Feb. 21-22, state wrestling Feb. 28-March 1 and state basketball throughout the end of February and the first half of March.