Caitlyn Jenner, a biological male who came out as transgender decades after winning a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, opposes allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.
During an interview on Fox News, Jenner declared, “biological boys, I’ve said from the beginning, should not be playing in women’s sports. We need to protect women’s sports.”
Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male, has been attracting significant attention while competing in women’s swimming. Thomas won a 1650 free last month by more than 38 seconds.
Jenner, who mounted an election bid last year during California’s gubernatorial recall election, noted that Thomas’s participation is “not good” for either the transgender community or women’s sports.
“I don’t know why she’s doing it. She knows when she’s swimming she’s beating the competition by two laps. She was born a biological boy. She was raised as a biological boy. Her cardiovascular system is bigger. Her respiratory system is bigger,” Jenner said. “Her hands are bigger. She can swim faster.”
“All of this woke world that we’re living in right now is not working,” Jenner noted.
The NCAA on Wednesday released a statement saying that its board of governors has voted in favor of adopting a “sport-by-sport approach” to the inclusion of transgender athletes.
“Like the Olympics, the updated NCAA policy calls for transgender participation for each sport to be determined by the policy for the national governing body of that sport, subject to ongoing review and recommendation by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports to the Board of Governors. If there is no NGB policy for a sport, that sport’s international federation policy would be followed. If there is no international federation policy, previously established IOC policy criteria would be followed,” part of the press release declared, according to Swim Swam.
“The policy is effective starting with the 2022 winter championships. Transgender student-athletes will need to document sport-specific testosterone levels beginning four weeks before their sport’s championship selections,” the release also notes.