Statement: Los Angeles LGBT Center Opposes International Olympic Committee’s New Policy Targeting the Transgender Community

Los Angeles, March 26, 2026—Following the policy update by the International Olympic Committee to ban transgender athletes at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner has issued the following statement:  

“At a time when the Trump administration continues to advance policies that cruelly target our TGNBI+ community, decisions like the IOC’s move to bar transgender women athletes from the 2028 Olympics raise serious concern. These public attacks against the TGNBI+ community must stop as they cause irreparable harm and, in this instance, stand in opposition to LA’s values. 

The IOC’s policy doesn’t address a rampant problem and, in fact, places all women athletes at-risk, subjecting them to invasive physical examination and genetic testing that undermine bodily autonomy. As the host city of the 2028 Games, Los Angeles has a responsibility to lead with its values and uphold the law. 

We encourage city and state leaders to affirm their commitment to inclusion and ensure that all athletes are treated with dignity and equity. Failure to act risks reinforcing a broader effort to exclude trans people from public life—including sport.

Our great city of Los Angeles cannot be a spectator as yet another attempt by those in power to create exclusion over equity and push marginalized communities further into the shadows is made. The 2028 Olympic Games are about more than just hosting and revenue; they are an opportunity to demonstrate courage and leadership on an international stage.

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About the Los Angeles LGBT Center

Since 1969, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBTQ+ people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBTQ+ people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org