The first six months of Donald Trump’s second term as president of the United States have been defined by sweeping executive orders and the introduction of legislation that takes aim at some of America’s most marginalized communities.
In particular, transgender people living in the US have been a target of the Trump administration’s ire. Several actions have been taken to prevent trans people from participating in public life, from banning transgender Americans from serving in the military to an executive order that bans transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
Trans athletes, especially, have been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over the last few months. There have been threats to California’s federal funding over the participation of a trans high school junior in state track and field championships and in March, the White House cut off $175 million in federal funds for the University of Pennsylvania related to the trans athlete issue.
As the US gears up to be one of three countries hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup next June – the first on American soil since 1994 – the spotlight is turning towards its sporting scene.
And as the attention of the world’s sports media shifts to the US, a number of athletes and soccer fans, including many trans people themselves, are raising the alarm over the attacks on trans rights.
Some want to use the upcoming World Cup – the largest international soccer tournament there is and arguably the most popular global event, sporting or otherwise – to show the world that the trans community in the US takes care of one another, refusing to disappear even as the Trump administration attempts to make life difficult for them. Many just want trans people to have the right to play and enjoy sports as freely as anyone else.
Liam Taylor is a season ticket holder of MLS franchise the Colorado Rapids, an overseas fan of English club Tottenham Hotspur, and a former high school powerlifting champion. He is also a trans man who was immensely looking forward to a World Cup in his home nation – but not anymore.
“My wife and I are so into the World Cup, we usually keep a track of every game in the competition. We were so excited for it to be here, where we live. But honestly, now, it doesn’t feel safe to travel to certain parts of the US, so we won’t be spending our money on that anymore,” Taylor told CNN Sports.
Taylor says he largely feels safe as a trans man living in the Centennial State with a supportive community around him, but he used to live in Dallas, Texas – a decidedly Republican state.
“Some of my friends in Dallas are bracing for a more hostile environment towards LGBTQ+ people. And not just in Texas but across the South, really,” Taylor said.
One of the reasons Taylor left the Lone Star State is that it was starting to become more and more difficult for him to access the hormones he needed. He is no stranger to experiencing discrimination towards the trans community but sports and, in particular, soccer have often been his solace. He’s happy that his beloved Colorado Rapids still hosted its designated Pride night, despite the ongoing exclusion towards transpeople in sports that the Trump administration is fostering, but he told CNN Sports that he is struggling to put an optimistic spin on the current political climate.
“It’s scary to think that a percentage of your neighbors really hate you. I try not to be a pessimist, but it’s difficult not to get down about it all right now,” he said. “There’s a huge hypocrisy amongst conservatives and the Trump administration, who say we should ‘Keep politics out of sport’ – but they’re doing something political by pushing (queer and trans) people out of sport!”
Referring to Trump’s executive order to ban trans women from sports, Taylor made the point that the practice is not only harmful to trans athletes but to cisgender ones, too.
“The Trump administration says that they’re doing this, banning trans players, to ‘protect women and girls,’ but who are we protecting when the privacy of athletes is being violated because of enforced (sex) checks?” said Taylor. “How exactly authorities in schools, colleges and sporting institutions are going to ‘check’ someone is or isn’t trans is incredibly unclear and could potentially be very invasive.”
Taylor is deeply concerned that the Trump administration’s anti-trans policies are going to encourage hostility towards trans people at sporting events and other public gatherings. He reflected on the transphobia that he himself experienced, particularly while he was transitioning, and told CNN Sports that he fears an uptick in the same kind of behavior in the new America being shaped by Trump.
“In 2016, back in Texas, I was followed into bathrooms, some guys tried to fight me at a truck stop, and it wasn’t safe to be there anymore,” Taylor said. “I’m seeing that kind of thing hap
Content adapted by the team from the original source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/sport/trans-sports-fans-trump-spt
Leave a comment