An announcement was never made, and the word “transgender” appears nowhere in the document. But effective June 18, The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee updated its eligibility policy to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports in order to comply with a February executive order issued by President Donald Trump. 

The move marks a profound turn of policy: The International Olympic Committee has long set the standard for world sports by including transgender women in competition after transition. That decision was based on a study of transgender runners who were found to be slower after medical transition. The United States is now breaking with tradition by creating its own restrictive guidance.

Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the nonprofit National Women’s Law Center, condemned the policy change in a statement. 

“The world is watching with alarm at the loss of freedom and opportunity in our country, especially as the United States is expected to host future Olympic events,” Graves said. “The Committee will learn — as so many other institutions have — that there is no benefit in appeasing the endless, shifting, and petulant demands coming out of the White House.”

Transgender women in sports have become a cultural flashpoint in recent years, and Trump and Republicans have demonized their participation. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the country’s largest college sports governing body,  announced earlier this month that it was also barring transgender women from competing in order to comply with the order Trump issued on February 5. 

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said in a document quietly updated on its website that it is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all participants. It refers to Trump’s order, officially called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” by its order number and references the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, which established the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“The 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 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.”