Madison Roller Derby, a 20-year-old athletic and community organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, and proud advocates for fairness, equity, and inclusion in sports, strongly condemns the recently signed Trump Executive Order that excludes transgender athletes from women’s sports.
 
The executive order is a direct attack on transgender athletes and shows an utter lack of regard for the long history of inclusive and community-driven sports, like roller derby, that welcome all competitors regardless of gender identity.
 
“We are proud to be part of a sport and a community that has welcomed transgender and non-binary athletes for many years,” said Sarah Larson, Executive Director of Madison Roller Derby. “We believe in building an inclusive culture where everyone has a space to work hard, build skills, find new friendships, and provide support for one another. This executive order does nothing to protect women or girls. All it does is target and further harm a very small, already vulnerable group of people who simply want to play sports.”
 
While the executive order mostly focuses on school sports that accept federal funding, the wording is broad and vague enough to create a risk that local governments could ban transgender athletes from playing at certain recreational facilities. Roller derby teams have long traveled to compete with one another, and such a ban/threat creates an impossible situation for leagues attempting to determine whether a particular location will be safe or even available for all its members.
 
Roller derby has long recognized that true athletic fairness is achieved through training, dedication, and skill–not exclusion. The sport has pioneered inclusive policies as part of our recognition that gender diversity does not threaten competition, but rather enriches it and the experiences of everyone involved. Governing bodies such as the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA) have led by example, proving that inclusivity and fairness can coexist in competitive, even full-contact sports.
 
“It’s appalling to see the language of fairness used to mask what is purely discrimination,” Larson said. “Supporting women’s sports means making sure the athletes receive equal pay, equal access, and equal funding, which is not currently the case. It means creating better systems for preventing and punishing sexual harassment and assault within sports. Instead of focusing on the real issues impacting women and girls, this administration is simply trying to erase transgender and non-binary people from public life, and further exert control over individual freedoms.”
 
Madison Roller Derby calls on fellow athletic organizations, lawmakers, and the public to stand against this hateful and discriminatory action, and advocate for the rights of all athletes to compete in the sports they love and as their full, authentic selves.
 
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