The Ithaca College women’s rowing team has chosen to include sophomore transgender rower Juniper Gattone in their competitive lineup, despite President Trump’s recent executive order aimed at restricting transgender participation in women’s sports.
Gattone, who competed in the Varsity women’s 3 boat at the season opener during the Cayuga Duals this past weekend, is now in her second season with the team. According to social media reports, Gattone also traveled with the women’s team on a recent training trip where the team participated in team-building activities that were shared on TikTok.
The decision to include Gattone comes amid heightened scrutiny of transgender participation policies in collegiate athletics. Jennifer Sey, a vocal advocate on this issue, commented on social media: “As many of us said, the NCAA’s new policy does nothing to protect women’s sports. The EO holds up. The NCAA policy does not. Men STILL competing in NCAA women’s sports!”
The situation highlights what some see as conflicting policies between the NCAA’s regulations and the presidential executive order signed earlier this year. Critics argue that the NCAA’s updated policy lacks enforcement mechanisms, with Kim Jones reportedly discussing “major policy failures allowing this to continue.”
The Ithaca College rowing team’s decision represents one of the first high-profile instances of a collegiate women’s sports program maintaining the inclusion of a transgender athlete following the executive order.
Neither the college administration nor the team’s coaching staff have issued formal statements regarding their position or the reasoning behind their continued inclusion of Gattone on the women’s team.
The Ithaca College case may set a precedent for how other institutions interpret and respond to the executive order in relation to their own transgender student-athletes.
