United States’ President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting transgender women and girls from playing in female sports offers little guidance on enforcing the ban beyond looking into the “best practices” of those states with similar laws, which have mostly proven limited or impractical.

Current options for enforcing the ban range from looking at birth certificates, which can be altered, to inspecting the bodies of children, an alternative that most would find unpalatable at best. “Anti-trans school sports bans are difficult to enforce because they rely on sex testing and body policing for implementation and enforcement,” said Chris Mosier, a transgender athlete and founder of transathlete.com, a website on school policies related to transgender athletes.

The issue is one that sports associations, schools and states have wrestled with for decades, with so-called “naked parades” and gynecological exams used to confirm sex for some events in the 1960s, though those methods were later abandoned.

Of the 25 states that have laws resembling Trump’s new order, only 12 specify a procedure for determining a student’s sex. In most cases, it involves checking birth certificates, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a think tank that advocates for transgender rights.

Other states look to affidavits from parents, students or healthcare providers.

“An increased scrutiny on athletes’ bodies creates serious harm to all women and girls who are perceived as ‘more masculine’ due to being queer, intersex, or otherwise out of alignment with narrow, white-centric norms of femininity,” said Mosier.

In 2020, Idaho became the first state to pass a law prohibiting transgender women and girls from playing on female-designated sports teams, mandating that a student whose sex was in dispute would have to provide a health exam and consent form from a healthcare provider.

The healthcare provider could verify the student’s sex by relying on their genetic makeup, reproductive anatomy or naturally produced testosterone levels, according to the law, which has since been blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A transgender woman, Lindsay Hecox, sued to block the law after she would not qualify to join the female track team at Boise State University due to the tests for biological sex.

For at least some of those who support the president’s order, the message it sends is powerful and overdue, regardless of any issues over enforcement that may surface.

“The executive order … is important legally but also vital for the long-overdue message it sends to women and girls: your rights matter,” said Kristen Waggoner, CEO and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, which describes itself as a conservative Christian legal advocacy group. “For too long, our daughters have heard the opposite message from those in power.”

A SITUATION NOBODY WANTS

Cheryl Cooky, a professor at Purdue University, said that the Olympics previously relied on testosterone testing, a highly flawed method because of differences in how bodies use the hormone. Similar tests in universities and high schools would be inappropriate because they do not necessarily show athletic performance, she said.

“Are we going to test nine-year-olds for testosterone?” Cooky asked. “Are we going to make nine-year-old boys and girls undergo physical inspections? This raises a whole host of issues. High schools and colleges don’t have the resources that the Olympic committee might,” she added.

To enforce Trump’s ban, she said, schools may end up relying on reports from parents or other students who suspect athletes may not be biological girls because of how they look or even if a student is exceptionally athletic, typically considered a male attribute.

“This ban is going to implicate all girls and women regardless of whether or not they are trans or cis gender,” she said.

A West Virginia law banning transgender students from playing sports according to their gender identity also relies on birth certificates and physical exams.

The law, which is also currently blocked by a judge, was challenged after an 11-year-old transgender girl wanted to run track and cross-country on the female team in middle school.

Relying on student birth certificates can be difficult because transgender youth in many states have the ability to change the documents, said Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

One transgender boy who updated his birth certificate to display his sex as male later filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against his Florida school district for not allowing him to use the male restroom. Two federal courts ruled in his favor, but the appeals court reversed its decision in 2023 after a rehearing before a panel comprising all of its judges.

Without a more consistent enforcement mechanism, some authorities have floated the idea of inspecting the bodies of students to determine their assigned sex at birth, Redfield said.

“The concern is that you’re creating a situation where the school officials or some other entity would have to actually look at the physical bodies of children, which nobody wants,” she said.

-Reuters

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

The Director General of Nigeria’s National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has stated the commitment of the leadership of the Commission to Training and Retraining of staff for scientific productivity of Nigerian Sports.

He stated this when he was a guest at the meeting of the newly appointed Federation Secretaries with the Director of the Federation of Elite Athletes Department (FEAD), Olumide Bamiduro.

“One of the things that myself and the Chairman, Shehu Dikko, discovered was lacking in the Commission when we were appointed is training and restraining of staff.

“This is why we have challenged the various Directors to go to their various departments to start looking for quality brains that we can give both local and international training and restraining to.

” The Sports ecosystem that we are in is very dynamic and this is why a lot of training and retraining will happen this year to complement the productivity and efficiency of the Commission”.

He also charged the Federation Secretaries to be up and doing and align themselves with the vision and mandate of the Commission especially with the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria Sports Economy ( RHINSE ) campaign.

” As Federation Secretaries that you all are, we are about to make history together in so many ways. For the Chairman, Shehu Dikko and myself, our determination is to ensure that you all are given the impetus to drive the federations as Independently as you can”.

” I also want to appeal to you all that the chief operating officers, COO, that we have introduced are not here to disturb you or usurp your job. They are here to support you, and I have no doubt that the symbiotic relationship that you can establish with them will only galvanize the history-making approach we all have for the Commission”.

The Director of Federation of Elite Athletes Development (FEAD), Olumide Bamiduro however thanked the DG for the surprise visit, stating that his visit further re-echoes the ongoing reforms and the commitment of the current leadership of the Sports Commission to achieve the Sporting mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

From Saturday 1 February, the Moroccan Football Museum will open its doors to the public. The museum, a first of its kind, contributes to the preservation of the national football memory and enhances its historical legacy by highlighting the sport’s most significant achievements, stars, and shining moments.

It is located in the heart of the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Maâmora, near Rabat. The museum highlights His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s long-standing commitment to conserving and enhancing Morocco’s historical, cultural, and sports heritage.

This architectural masterpiece, which covers an area of 2,100 square meters, allows visitors the opportunity to view artefacts, photos, and videos, in addition to a library containing books on Moroccan and international football.

This museum intends to shed light on the history of national football, which began in 1906, by showcasing images and football-related objects, allowing all generations, particularly young people, to learn about Moroccan football players’ exploits.

It is the result of a collaboration between the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the National Museum Foundation, which signed an agreement in March 2022 to create and operate it.

Its construction began in March 2021; and comprises a permanent exhibition area, a temporary exhibition space, a 42-seat exhibition hall, a VIP hall, a documentation hall, and other facilities.

According to the Morocco news agency, MAP,  the museum  offers its visitors a permanent exhibition with six spaces that focus on the rich history and memorable moments of Moroccan football:

The First Space, “The Enlightened Royal Vision,” presents a unique vision founded by three monarchs who transformed football into a distinct medium of expression for the Moroccan people.

The Second Space:   “Land of Pioneers” Celebrating Morocco’s first remarkable victories while introducing the globe to national football stars and icons.

The Third Space is called the “Land of Excellence.” Examines the incredible exploits of national teams and clubs from the 1950s to the present.

The Fourth Space: “Celebrity Hall” It is a celebration of those who have had an impact on Moroccan football, whether as players, coaches, referees, or managers.

The Fifth Space “Hospitable Land” offers a journey through the memories of the most important sporting events staged by Morocco, whether they were cups, championships, or friendly matches. It also notes important visits from football figures.

The Sixth Space, “Land of Passion,” commemorates Moroccan citizens’ enthusiasm and love for football, as seen through historical events. In addition to the permanent museum, there is a temporary exhibition where visitors may learn about the paths of Moroccan national teams and clubs.

It will also include a Research and Documentation Sports Centre assigned the role of researching the history of national football, including all documents, images, cups, badges, and clothes, to preserve and display it in general, and particularly for young people, using new technology, primarily digital ones, to promote Moroccan football at the regional, continental, and international levels.

Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H