The word is “transgender.” There is no -ed.
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Not surprising but disappointing that what is fair to female athletes is continually disregarded by the men who run these sports organizations.
Regardless of the times Lia posts it won’t affect the records/results of biologically female swimmers. There will always be a distinction that no rules or guidelines can erase.
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Perhaps other swimmers will decide to bypass this meet. Records will be set that will never again be matched or broken, and the outcome is already known.
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This is my last post because discussing “fair” is like agreeing on a definition of porn. We each know it when we see it.
I’m not arguing that Lia doesn’t have a genetic advantage. What I find so interesting is that nobody here had an issue with the NCAA policy until Lia started to win. The NCAA policy was created a decade ago and re-issued last year. Ten months ago. Did anyone here care? No.
So here comes someone who meets the rules and wins. She did nothing wrong. Obviously, most here think it’s unreasonably unfair…but they were the rules.
In my sense of fairness, you finish a season with the same rules as you started the season. Someone figures out a way to gain an advantage within those rules…you change the rules for next season. That has already happened.
This is another example of the reactionary, immediate, self-absorbed culture that we now seem to embrace. The outcome for a very short period of time has been impacted. Any records broken will A) eventually fall, and B) have an asterisk. I believe the NCAA acted correctly. Let the season end under the rules and move on.
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Was there another transgender swimmer prior to Lia? If so, she certainly did not receive much attention, so I dont think it is fair to claim we only care about Lia winning. In any event, the records set this season will never be broken unless the NCAA again permits high testosterone swimmers to again compete in the womens team. Thats the advantage of testosterone.
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With the media highlighting that Lia is transgender and breaking all these records, more people are informed about what is happening, and that’s part of the reason it’s causing a stir. I’m not a competitive swimmer, but when I see all of this on the news, it piques my interest and I do my research. Before this, there was no reason for me to research NCAA policy. Like majority of individuals, I am not an NCAA athlete. I don’t tend to spend my time researching policies for organizations I have no affiliation with, but when something like this can establish a troubling precedent, (and I’m aware of it), then I look into the policies.
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I read an interesting article that suggested everyone compete together with different scoring systems. It isn’t fair for Lia to compete with men, either, so what is the solution for her? We know the solution for the other females is to exclude Lia, but there still needs to be an answer for her.
I think (just my opinion––may or may not be wrong), that they should have a separate division for transgender athletes. I’m not sure how you could perfect a scoring system that could effectively take all the circumstances into account.
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Not sure that will work given the small numbers. I wish I could cite the article. The writer was well-respected in the field. Any difficulty encountered in figuring out how to score would seem to be preferable to excluding athletes like Lia.
There are certain physical characteristics that are very beneficial for certain sports. How do you make it fair for people who don’t have those?
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Without weighing in on the larger topic, I with this. I think one wants to be careful about disparaging female athletes for being ambitious or competing for the “wrong reasons.” Female athletes have fought long and hard against notion that it is unseemly for women to be competitive or aggressive or glory-seeking.
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One proposed solution I’ve seen in a few articles is to change the men’s division to an open division and retain the women/female division. This would allow trans women athletes to compete and provide a division for biological female athletes.
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It isnt’t fair for Lia to compete in the men’s division either.
Well, it’s much more ideal than for her to obliterate every record set by biologically female college athletes.
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The article I cited made it fair for everyone.
Why? That’s the team she was originally accepted to.
She also got an extra season (maybe 2?) because of covid. If covid hadn’t granted everyone an extra year of eligibility, she may have aged out of NCAA eligibility.
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The answer is obvious. Like others, I am not going to engage on this thread again.
I’m not familiar with the world of elite sports, but Caitlyn Jenner is. She said it’s unfair for transgender women to compete on women’s teams.
“I respect her decision to live her life authentically — 100 percent,” the Olympic gold medalist told “America Reports” host Sandra Smith. But, Jenner added, that “also comes with responsibility and some integrity.” Jenner said it’s unfair for transgender women such as Thomas to compete in women’s sports.
I think it’s important to create a level playing field. According to a Duke Law report, Olympic medalists Torie Bowie and Allyson Felix’s lifetime best times in the 100 meters and 400 meters have been beaten 15,000 times by boys and men. It surprises me that teenage boys can outrace Olympic champions. The article says that testosterone gives them advantages in strength, speed, and endurance.
So how much does hormone therapy affect testosterone levels? A 2018 study from Boston University’s School of Medicine reported that 50% either had no significant change in testosterone levels or had some change but were still above the female range. Only 25% of transgender women taking hormone medication were able to lower there testosterone levels to the range typical for females.
There are 38 states that allow transgender girls to play on high school girl’s teams. Most don’t have hormone therapy requirements. That doesn’t sound like a level playing field. If hormone therapy drops testosterone levels to the female range for only 1 in 4 people, then allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports in college doesn’t appear to be a level playing field either.
What’s the solution? I don’t have the answer to that. But I do think that we owe it to all of the athletes to make sure the playing field is level before the competition begins.
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So if I know I am not going to win, I should not participate?
Plenty of kids (most?) compete in sports, tournaments, meets etc. that they know they are not going to win.
This.
This is an interesting subject for sure. And I see both sides. And I am still reading and learning.
But the reality is that playing field is never level. Some kids have genetically inherited traits that are good, or bad, for a sport. Some kids come from a background that allows them to participate in travel leagues or have private coaches, the best equipment, while others do not.
What we can control is following the rules. And in the particular case, it appears all the rules were followed.
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