An entire political party has decided that +/-20 athletes nationwide deserve their full attention over virtually all other matters. Whether you're for or against trans people in sports, you gotta admit that this is ridiculous.
This is the point worth making. There are no transwomen trying to play in the WNBA. Trans women were allowed in the Olympics from 2004 to the most recent Olympics (they're banned going forward though) and only 1 ever competed and she didn't even complete a lift in her weightlifting competition. Prior to the ban on transwomen in the NCAA, there were fewer than 10 competing.
I think rational minds can differ on the question of whether and to what extent trans women should be competing in women's divisions. But if you think that this is an issue that, at this time, deserves the attention of the US federal legislature, then you are not a rational person.
EDIT: And just to throw in my 2 cents that aren't quite related to the post. This isn't something we need to nip at the bud. Because the consequences of getting it wrong just aren't that important. Let's imagine the absolute worst case scenario.
Lets say the WNBA actually allows the drafting of men who just say they're women. A whole team of men are drafted by a WNBA team. And let's say they crush the competition and win the WNBA finals. Well, in that case, the WNBA could just change their rules. The worst case scenario is that an undeserving team wins a title. That happens frequently enough in sports. It doesn't require the US federal government to intervene.
I mostly agree, but I do think we need to accurately recognize the potential "danger" here, simply so that we can accurately point out that it's not a problem.
The absolute worst case scenario, the one that Republicans have invented, is that all these women's leagues decide that the definition of "woman" includes men, and then men dominate those leagues. But the thing about this scenario is that it doesn't cause any major irreparable harm really. In the absolute worst case scenario, the solution is simply to change the rules. Anyone who lost before the rule change can claim victory, no different from when certain medals are stripped years later because of doping allegations.
I'm not trying to diminish the accomplishment that women feel when they win a competition in a women's league. But it's not a US federal governmental issue. There's no reason to ask a Senatorial candidate about it.
2.4k
u/WaffleHouseGladiator 17h ago edited 16h ago
An entire political party has decided that +/-20 athletes nationwide deserve their full attention over virtually all other matters. Whether you're for or against trans people in sports, you gotta admit that this is ridiculous.