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Reports that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would ban biological male transgender athletes from women’s competitions have sparked reactions from figures involved in protecting women’s sports.
Amid a global movement to ensure women’s exclusive participation in women’s sports, potential IOC reform would be one of the biggest global moves to achieve that goal yet.
In the United States, two cases are expected to be heard by the Supreme Court on this issue and could result in reform of a similar magnitude. The Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. BPJ cases, which will likely be heard by SCOTUS judges in early 2026, could potentially set a historic precedent to protect women’s sports.
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Kriston Wagoner, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, which helps lead the defense in these cases, provided a statement to PK Press Club Digital regarding her reaction to reports of the IOC’s potential decision.
“I’m encouraged that the IOC is moving toward a long-overdue decision to ban men from competing in the women’s Olympic events. Women don’t train their entire lives to become elite athletes just to be supplanted by men and then slimed for talking about it,” Waggoner said. “If the IOC implements this policy, it is a welcome step in the right direction. But there is still work to be done to protect women and girls at all levels of competition. In January, the ADF will support WV & ID in their defense of women’s school sports in the Supreme Court.”
Three other lawsuits in the United States aimed at addressing past cases of trans athletes in women’s sports and seeking redress for affected women are being funded by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS).
ICONS co-founders Kim Jones and Marshi Smith helped raise funds for Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA, Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the NCAA, and three former UPenn swimmers against that university in the wake of the 2022 Lia Thomas scandal.
Jones and Smith addressed reports of potential IOC reform in statements provided to PK Press Club Digital.
“ICONS welcomes the IOC’s long-awaited decision to restore fairness and integrity to women’s Olympic competition. This change came only after the world saw the safety and fairness of the women’s events collapse in Paris, where male boxers violently took the medals intended for women,” Smith said.
NEW OLYMPICS CHIEF CALLS TO “PROTECT” WOMEN’S CATEGORY AMID GLOBAL WAVE OF TRANS ATHLETES
“It never would have taken global outrage and the loss of gold medals to bring sanity back, but this marks a major step toward reality for the world’s most powerful sports committee. We look forward to seeing how the IOC will enforce its new eligibility rules, as strong, transparent enforcement is essential for real progress. Fortunately, the IOC can learn from the success stories of World Athletics and World Boxing, which recently implemented science-based, science-based standards sex which protect feminine categories.
“It is also important to clarify that this is not a ban on ‘transgender’ or DSD, but a long-needed clarification of eligibility – confirming that participation in the women’s category is based on genetic sex, ideally verified by a simple, accurate and non-invasive one-time cheek swab to ensure fairness, safety and integrity in competition.”
Jones added: “There are too many women who have lost records, awards and recognition, chances to compete on the world stage, because of bad policy and these women deserve an apology and a sincere effort to make things right. We look forward to a transparent and responsible future for women in sport.”
Current IOC policy leaves it up to each sport’s governing body to develop policies governing transgender athletes. But as the IOC changed direction, London weather reported Monday that its policies were also about to change.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry called for the women’s category to be “protected” in June and received “massive support” from IOC members to do the same.
“We understand that there will be differences depending on the sport… but it was very clear from members that we need to protect the women’s category, first and foremost to ensure fairness,” Coventry said at the time.
“But we have to do it with a scientific approach and the inclusion of international federations who have already done a lot of work in this area.”
The upcoming policy change will likely be announced at IOC session in February ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy and follows a presentation by Dr. Jane Thornton, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, last week, according to the Times.
Thornton’s presentation reportedly showed there were physical benefits in men, including those who took treatments to reduce testosterone levels. A source told the newspaper the presentation was “very scientific” and emotionless.
“An update was given by the IOC Director of Health, Medicine and Science to IOC members last week during the IOC Commission meetings,” an IOC spokesperson told PK Press Club Digital. “The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have yet been made. Further information will be provided in due course.”
Athletes with DSD — those who were raised as women but born with masculine traits — should be covered by the new policy, according to the Times. Olympic boxing There were two major controversies regarding athletes who had previously failed gender tests.
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Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting won gold medals in their respective women’s weight categories despite a major outcry. Khelif insisted they were women. Lin has not commented on the controversy since the Olympics ended.
World Boxing has since implemented mandatory sex testing for its competitors and Khelif will not be able to compete until the test is completed.
