By Kristian Fearon ’25
There has been lots of controversy about the topic of transgender (trans) women participating in women’s sports teams and trans men on men’s teams. Over the years our society has changed, and with that so have the rules in sports, But are these rules fair to the participants? Many believe that biological men shouldn’t be allowed to participate on women’s sports teams. Many women and women athletes believe that this is morally wrong, and that letting biological males compete against biological females is taking away from the trajectory of women sports.
Males are biologically stronger than females, which give males many physical advantages over them, making sports unfair for women athletes. Males have larger hearts, leaner muscles, bigger organs, etc. With these facts alone it is shown that biological males have greater physical advantages over females. In an article by Alliance Defending Freedom, it is stated that, “Gifted and trained males have physical advantages over females—from greater height and weight and larger, longer, and stronger bones to larger muscles and higher rates of metabolizing and releasing energy.” This allows males to be able to perform at a much higher ability than females.
Many women athletes feel this change of letting males compete against them is unfair. Due to the fact that males are biologically stronger than females, letting trans women compete on women’s sports teams is unfair to women athletes. Athletes who work hard, go to practice everyday, and who want to achieve certain goals are getting their dreams and opportunities taken away because the chance of winning against a male is slim to none. There are many instances where we unfortunately see this, like with track athlete Selina Soule at the Connecticut state championships in 2019 when she was beat by athlete Terry Miller. In an article by Alliance Defending Freedom, it states “After months of training for the 55-meter dash, Selina placed just one spot away from qualifying for the final and a chance to compete for a spot in the New England regional championships, where many college scouts attend. Two male athletes had taken first and second in that race. Had they not been permitted to do so, Selina likely would have competed at the regional championships in front of college scouts.” This demonstrates a situation where a hard working athlete got her opportunities taken because she was forced to compete against a male.
We also see this with swimmer Riley Gaines at the NCAA championships in 2022 when she was beat by swimmer Lia Thomas. In an article by The Telegraph UK, Riley Gaines states, “It felt, like heartbreak. Women had dedicated their entire lives to this. We had spent five and a half hours every day in the pool. To have it taken away from you by somebody who, only a year earlier, would never have even qualified for this competition as a man? It was a total slap in the face.” Women athletes shouldn’t have to go through this; they should be able to compete against athletes who they have a fair shot of winning against.
If biological men are on women’s sports teams they can hurt women athletes. Again, with the fact men are stronger than women, having men participate on women’s teams risks female athletes getting severely hurt. Though female athletes can still get hurt competing against other females, getting hurt by a male can be much more damaging due to their biological nature. There have been times in the past where women athletes have gotten hurt from competing with men. A female athlete who attends ‘Massachusetts High School’ was a victim of this. In an article by Fox News, it states that, “Tensions are high in a Massachusetts school district where a high school female field hockey player suffered ‘significant facial and dental injuries’ after being hit in the face on a shot from a male opponent,’ an official said Wednesday.” This is unfair to this particular athlete because she shouldn’t have to be obligated to participate against males because situations like this can happen. This happens again with high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, when she gets spiked in the face by a male competitor. In an article by Marca.com, it says, “Due to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy allowing biological males to compete against biological females, my life has forever been changed,” McNabb said. She added that she still struggles with the effects of her injuries, including impaired vision, partial paralysis on the right side of her body, unremitting headaches, anxiety, and depression.” This is unfair because now this athlete is has to deal with the long-term consequences. This athlete should have been able to go against fair competition.
Though rules for biological males competing against women have changed in some places, they should be changed all over the nation. In the end, it is unfair for males to compete against women athletes. Males are stronger, can severely hurt female competitors and this takes opportunities away from the female athletes competing.
The Raider Press 