Transgender athletes have unfair advantage

Some young women feel the inclusion of transgendered athletes into their sports has unfairly impeded their opportunity to secure college scholarships.

Once again, the needs of the extreme few (less than 1 percent) have outweighed the needs of the many. House Democrats voted unanimously Friday in favor of legislation that, if signed into law, would require that public schools allow boys who identify as girls to compete in girls’ sports.

The bill they’re calling the Equity Act passed 236–173 with the support of eight Republicans, and essentially could be the end of female interscholastic athletics. The legislation forces teams to treat transgender women the same as women who are not transgender, even if the transgender is male-bodied. Basically, the bill says that, to quote Shania Twain, “if you feel like a woman” then you are, in fact, a woman and you’ll be allowed to compete as such.

Connecticut is actually at the epicenter of this debate as one of 17 states that allows transgender high school athletes to compete without restrictions. However, a complaint has now been filed against the CIAC with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights on behalf of three female Connecticut track and field athletes. These young women feel the inclusion of transgendered athletes into their sports has unfairly impeded their opportunity to secure college scholarships. The complaint centers on two transgender individuals — Cromwell’s Andraya Yearwood and Bloomfield’s Terry Miller. Both transgender athletes have won multiple state titles and have broken multiple female state open track records. Keep in mind: the peak performances by the transgender athletes wouldn’t even qualify them for the open championship if they were competing in the boy’s division.

(And just so we all understand the definitions; transgender describes a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. Transsexuals are those whose identities don’t match the sex that was assigned at birth and who desire and/or seek to transition to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identities.)

In 2018, the number of girls participating in high school sports reached an all-time high of 3,415,306. Boys’ participation also set a new standard at 4,565,580. About 1.4 million adults in the United States identify as transgender, which equates to .004 percent of the population. Proportionately, that suggests just over 18,000 male high school athletes across the country might consider themselves transgender and could, theoretically, compete in high school girls’ athletic events, while still anatomically presenting as boys.

That’s potentially a lot of lost

championships for young women who have given everything to their sport.

Imagine being a female athlete training hard every day, passionate about competition and perhaps gifted with speed and skill that many other girls don’t have. You sacrifice in pursuit of the goal of being a state champion or moving on to college athletics. Then, in a blink of an eye, it is all minimized by a transgender athlete who steals a title.

Typically, men are larger and stronger than women. Women’s skeletal structures have wider hips, a longer trunk, and shorter legs than men. Due to higher estrogen levels, women usually have more body fat than men. Men have more testosterone and a larger proportion of Type 2 muscle fibers, generating more power, strength and speed.

Testosterone increases the production of red blood cells, which absorb oxygen, giving men an even greater aerobic advantage. The bottom line is that men are bigger, faster and stronger. If you’re competing in any event or contest where those physical attributes are a factor, a male has a decided advantage.

If Coach Geno Auriemma could pick his 12 all-time best Lady Huskies and play a real game versus the pedestrian 2018 UConn’s men’s team, not only would the women’s team lose, they might not score. A below average Division 1 men’s basketball team will start four or five players six-foot-five or taller, while the average height for a female starter at the same level is under six feet. It just wouldn’t be fair.

Eventually, someone identifying as a female will insist on playing a contact-related sport like lacrosse, basketball or field hockey. What will be the reaction when a 215-pound transgender lacrosse defender sends a 95 pound 16-year-old sophomore to the hospital after knocking her into the bleachers? If it’s all about fairness — fairness to the transgender athletes as well as the women — then allow transgender athletes to compete in regional events for separate transgender championships.

Otherwise, as noted, the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many as the politically correct mafia strikes again.

Lee Elci is the morning host for 94.9 News Now radio, a station that provides “Stimulating Talk” with a conservative bent.