What started as a conflict among a half-dozen college volleyball teams has now made its way to the White House. Experts say President Donald Trump is making major strides toward the protection of girls by upholding fairness and safety in their athletics. This was made evident by his executive order, signed on Wednesday, banning men from women’s sports. And to follow through on his order, Trump has officially launched an investigation into the alleged Title IX violations that have taken place on college campuses.

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), San Jose State University (SJSU), and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) are on the hot seat for allowing men to participate on women’s teams. The Department of Education (DOE) is spearheading the effort and they wrote in a statement:

“Pursuant to President Trump’s Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order yesterday, the US Department of Education today announced investigations into two educational institutions and an athletic association where violations of Title IX have been reported. President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ is a promise to women and girls: this administration will not tolerate the mistreatment of female athletes.”

SJSU has been under fire for months due to their male-born player Blaire Fleming. The controversy surrounding his participation resulted in a season with eight forfeited matches, several injuries, a suspended SJSU assistant coach, and the majority of the team’s players leaving through the transfer portal. The controversy surrounding UPenn, on the other hand, goes even further back to male swimmer Lia Thomas, whose first-place NCAA finish sparked the furious debate over trans-identifying athletes that’s still taking place today.

Thomas began swimming for the women’s team at UPenn in 2022 as a 6’1” biological male. He was previously on the men’s team, where he finished in the middle of the pack. However, upon joining the women’s team, he broke “several women’s records and [won] top spots at the 2022 Ivy League championships and the NCAA championships.” Between Thomas, Fleming, and other instances in track and field and volleyball, the backlash for letting men compete against women has only grown stronger with each passing year. Experts have deemed Trump’s order from Wednesday as a pivotal moment in the fight to protect women’s sports while still urging that the fight is far from over.

Experts say there is more work to be done to enshrine Trump’s protections for girls’ sports into law. Additionally, there are several ongoing lawsuits that were filed as a result of the perceived inequity and privacy violations that took place at UPenn and SJSU. But as former UPenn swimmer Paula Scanlan told Fox News, “I’m deeply grateful to the Department of Education for addressing Title IX violations concerning female athletes with such seriousness. As a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was forced to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I look forward to them holding accountable the higher education institutions that promoted [these policies].”

Concerning the DOE’s investigation, SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said the school is “committed to ensuring that all of our students, including our student-athletes, are treated fairly, free from discrimination, and afforded the rights and protections granted under federal and state law, including privacy rights. … As with any federal inquiry, we will fully engage with the process, follow established procedures and remain transparent in our compliance with all applicable laws.”

Meanwhile, ESPN is currently facing backlash after sharing a “woke” statement in response to Trump’s executive order protecting women. On Wednesday, prior to the signing ceremony, they posted, “President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Wednesday designed to prevent people who were biologically assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.” In response, OutKick’s Clay Travis wrote, “How broken is this company?!” The prominent conservative activist Riley Gaines explained how “‘people who were biologically assigned male at birth’ is the most inefficient way to say ‘men.’”

“Why is it that you people are so obsessed with letting men compete in women’s sports?” another shared. “Why can’t you accept that nobody wants … this woke [stuff] anymore? The charade is over.” In a comment to The Washington Stand, Family Research Council’s Mary Szoch, a former NCAA Division I athlete, said, “President Trump’s efforts to return common sense to America should be applauded!”

Szoch explained how “men should not play women’s sports — and to do so is, in fact, a violation of title IX. … It is so encouraging to see that President Trump will be holding schools accountable for ensuring that spots on women’s teams do not go to male players.” Ultimately, she emphasized, “This not only protects a woman’s right to have equal opportunities in sports but also protects a woman’s physical and mental safety. It is encouraging to see that the NCAA has changed their policy to align with President Trump’s executive order.”

“I look forward to that day when things as clearly evident as the difference between men and women are not up for debate,” Szoch concluded, “and I am grateful to President Trump for his efforts to ensure that that day is today.”