This article was written by the distinguished jurist, Judge John Wilson (ret.)
As one of the female athlete plaintiffs stated when describing her reasons for bringing a lawsuit, “We all know the outcome of the race before it even starts; it’s demoralizing…I fully support and am happy for these athletes for being true to themselves. They should have the right to express themselves in school, but athletics have always had extra rules to keep the competition fair.”
Ignoring these “”anecdotal” stories of women who have been harmed by the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, Grossman and Rathod continue to misstate the facts; “Moreover,” they write, “there is simply no evidence that trans girls would displace cis girls to a substantial extent if allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams…(i)n March, Associated Press journalists contacted the sponsors of the 20-plus anti-trans sports bills introduced this year. In almost every case, the lawmakers could not cite a single instance in their own state or region where the participation of trans athletes caused any problems whatsoever.”
These two statements are diametrically opposed, one to the other. While it is true that the state legislatures which have voted for transgender bans from female sports (which include Florida, Ohio and Alabama) could not cite to any “problems” with trans athletes (leaving wide open the definition of the word “problem” in this context), other states (such as Connecticut, discussed above), have produced evidence of trans athletes who have displaced women. According to Wired, “(t)ransgender athletes are having a moment. At all levels of sport, they’re stepping onto the podium and into the headlines. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard won two gold medals at the Pacific Games, and college senior CeCe Telfer became the NCAA Division II national champion in the 400-meter run. Another senior, June Eastwood, has been instrumental to her cross-country team’s success.”
In fact, the aforementioned CeCe Telfer competed on behalf of Franklin Pierce University of New Hampshire, where a bill to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports is being held up in committee until next year’s legislative session. But where did CeCe win the 400-meter run? “(T)he outdoor track at Javelina Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Tex(as)…on Saturday, May 25, 2019.”
Does Texas have a “problem” with transgender athletes? “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has said he will sign a bill to prevent transgender youth from competing on teams that align with their gender identity… (t)he bill, sponsored by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), passed the Senate on a party-line vote last month. Under the bill, athletes would be required to compete on sports teams matching the sex listed on their original birth certificates… it was that same…rule referenced by Perry that created controversy a few years ago when transgender student Mack Beggs was forced to compete in girls’ wrestling despite having started his transition, because the original sex listed on his birth certificate was ‘female.’”
When they do, it is filled with misunderstandings, blames, lies and fights that make the condition even worse. viagra sans prescription viagra from canada pharmacy You may experience nausea, headache, drowsiness and flushing after dosage, which usually go away after a couple of hours. It is made of cialis uk sales Sildenafil citrate and it is the first ED drug, manufactured by Pfizer pharmaceuticals. In short, generic medicines should meet the same standards of quality, safety and efficacy as original pharmaceutical pfizer viagra discount products.In the final analysis, Grossman and Rathod present their arguments from a particular perspective; “Trans girls are girls” they write. “Protecting the athletic opportunities for girls means protecting opportunities for trans girls too. There is increasing consensus among legal practitioners that gender identity—rather than anatomy or sex-assigned-at-birth—is the primary determinant of sex.”
But legal practioners are not doctors, nor are they female athletes unable to compete with the bigger, stronger, trans athletes. And what is the medical view? “A new study suggests transgender women maintain an athletic advantage over their cisgender peers even after a year on hormone therapy… said the study’s lead author, Dr. Timothy Roberts, a pediatrician and the director of the adolescent medicine training program at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. ‘At one year, the trans women on average still have an advantage over the cis women…'”
Various leaders in women’s sports are finally coming forward to address this issue. According to the Washington Post, “Donna de Varona, the Olympic swimmer who lobbied for Title IX’s passage in 1972; Donna Lopiano, the former chief executive of the Women’s Sports Foundation; and Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Olympic swimmer and law professor who wrote a book on Title IX…. planned to lobby for federal legislation requiring transgender girls and women, in high school sports and above, to suppress testosterone for at least one year before competing against other girls and women, making universal a policy already in place in some states and some higher levels of sports. For transgender girls in high school who do not suppress testosterone, they suggested ‘accommodations,’ such as separate races, podiums or teams… ‘To give girls and women an equal opportunity to participate in sports, they need their own team. Why? Because of the biological differences between males and females,’ said Hogshead-Makar, CEO of Champion Women, a women’s sports advocacy organization.
Rather than follow the ideological position of Grossman and Rathod, de Varona, Lopiano and Hogshead-Makar are looking for a reasonable, practical way to address the obvious truth underlying this entire issue – the existence of physical differences between men and women. If they are successful, and more states continue their efforts to protect women’s sports, than no other woman will lose out on a college scholarship, or need to have her skull broken in a sporting competition.
Illustration: Pixabay