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USA Gymnastics has unexpectedly removed its transgender eligibility policy pages from its official website, generating significant public interest. The specific date when these pages were taken offline remains unclear.
The organization has faced intense scrutiny following a public feud that erupted on social media between Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, a conservative activist. This conflict revolves around the contentious issue of transgender athlete inclusion in sports.
Currently, previous links to three pages detailing USA Gymnastics’ transgender eligibility policies are now inactive. This situation has led to questions regarding the transparency and future of these policies.
One of the deleted links had directed users to a November 2020 announcement, which stated that the organization no longer required transgender athletes to undergo sex reassignment surgery, obtain legal gender recognition, or complete hormone therapy to compete in their chosen gender category. Although the page still appears in search engine results, accessing it now leads to a 404 error.
Another link previously led to a detailed PDF pamphlet outlining USA Gymnastics guidelines for transgender and non-binary athletes. This link is now also nonfunctional, yet it continues to show up prominently in search results.
A third link that is invalid was part of a nine-page PDF document titled “Transgender Athlete Inclusion Resources: Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Athletes.” All three linked resources provided vital information about the organization’s stance on transgender participation in gymnastics but are now unavailable to the public.
As of April, USA Gymnastics’ website listed these transgender and non-binary guidelines within its governance documents. However, they are currently missing from the site, raising concerns regarding the organization’s commitment to inclusivity and transparency.
The Wayback Machine, an internet archiving service, cannot precisely pinpoint when USA Gymnastics removed or altered these pages.
Fox News Digital has reached out to USA Gymnastics for further comment on this development. The organization has not yet provided a public response.
The escalating conflict between Biles and Gaines has become one of the most talked-about topics on social media platforms in recent days. Discussions around their debate have dominated trending sections, igniting heated discussions and drawing significant media attention.
Gaines recently shared on social media that multiple athletes from Team USA have privately expressed their agreement with her viewpoints regarding the participation of transgender individuals in women’s sports.
This controversy ignited when Biles criticized Gaines for targeting a Minnesota high school with a transgender pitcher, who played a key role in helping the team secure a state championship title.
Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender athlete, pitched a shutout, contributing to the victory of Champlin Park High School. In her response, Gaines remarked that it was expected for a team to showcase a boy as their star player—a comment that spurred further backlash.
Biles hit back, calling Gaines “truly sick” for her remarks and urged her to support transgender athletes instead. In a second post, Biles suggested that Gaines target someone of her own ability, “which would ironically be a male.”
The debate surrounding this issue has attracted criticism from various corners, including prominent conservative voices and advocates for women’s sports. Notably, Donald Trump Jr. has joined the discussion, expressing his disapproval through posts on social media.
In the wake of rising opposition to transgender participation in women’s sports, several significant governing bodies, including USA Track and Field, have quietly revised their policies. USA Track and Field’s current transgender eligibility policy now aligns with World Athletics guidelines, a departure from its previous affiliation with the International Olympic Committee’s regulations.
While the IOC permits biological males to compete in women’s categories, the updated World Athletics guidelines prohibit individuals who have gone through male puberty from participating as women. This shift significantly influences the ongoing conversations around fairness in competitive sports.
In April, USA Fencing announced intentions to update its gender-eligibility policy following a public protest by women’s fencer Stephanie Turner. Turner faced repercussions for opposing a transgender competitor, which ignited widespread backlash and prompted federal intervention.
The organization stated it would consider altering its policies to ensure that tournaments allow athletes to compete based on their biological sex. If enacted, these updated regulations would mean that only individuals identifying as female at birth could participate in the women’s category. The new policy structure aims to create a clear distinction between the men’s and women’s categories in competitive fencing.
In response to growing public sentiment, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February seeking to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. Polls show that a considerable majority of Americans support the idea of barring biological males from competing against females, with diverse political affiliations expressing alignment on this issue.
This sentiment was echoed in a recent survey commissioned by The New York Times and Ipsos, revealing that 79% of respondents oppose the participation of biological males identifying as women in women’s sports. Interestingly, a significant percentage of self-identified Democrats also expressed similar views against transgender athletes competing with women.
Implications for the Future of Transgender Inclusion in Sports
The recent developments surrounding USA Gymnastics and its transgender policies reflect wider societal debates about inclusion in competitive sports. As organizations navigate these complex topics, monitoring changes in the situation and potential impacts on various sports will be crucial moving forward.
