Donald Trump signs order to ban transgender athletes from women's sports: What can go wrong legally?

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to prohibit the participation of transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports. While signing the “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order,” Donald Trump reaffirmed his stance against transgender rights and said, “the war on women’s sports is over.”

“The radical left has waged an all-out campaign to erase the very concept of biological sex and replace it with a militant transgender ideology,” he added while addressing the public.

The executive order is Donald Trump's fourth official directive targeting transgender people since he took over as the US president on January 20. Donald Trump's recent action may face lawsuits just like other US states with similar bans.

Is a law to ban transgender in female sports passed first time in US?

No, it is not the first time when a law to ban transgenders has been passed in the US. More than twenty Republican-led states have passed similar laws. Proponents of these laws say they are needed to ensure fairness in girls' sports by keeping out transgender athletes, who may have a biological advantage. 

Donald Trump bans transgenders from female sports: What can go wrong?

The recent executive order to prevent transgenders from participating in female sports is set to spark another controversy and face multiple lawsuits. 

Lawsuits against Trump order

Several transgender athletes and their families have sued to block state bans, alleging that the laws violate their right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution, as well as Title IX, which they interpret to protect transgender girls' right to play in girls' sports.

Risk of no implementation in future

Considering the fate of similar state laws passed earlier, Donald Trump's executive order may not come into effect. According to Reuters, several lawsuits succeeded in blocking enforcement of state laws. But most of them blocked enforcement of state laws against the plaintiffs who brought those challenges.

Past orders against transgender athletes, brought by different states in the US, were struck down by the court, including Idaho's law against transgender athletes, bans in West Virginia and Arizona.

The law has come into effect in many US states despite legal challenges. Last month, a state court allowed Nassau County, New York to enforce a law prohibiting transgender girls and women from playing in female sports at county-owned athletic facilities.