Transgender Sports Ban Upheld; Not Discriminatory
The Court for Arbitration in Switzerland has rejected a complaint by M2F transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who argued that attempts to prevent her from competing in elite women’s races are invalid, unlawful and discriminatory, according to GWU Public Interest Law Professor John Banzhaf.
The professor noted that the decision was based on the major athletic advantages being born a male provide over athletes who were born and compete as females.
Banzhaf has documented an ever-growing number of sports in which permitting M2F athletes to compete against girls and women has caused serious physical injuries, which he notes is a “compelling reason not to permit transgender athletes from competing against females. he cited a recent example:
“In February a girl’s basketball team was forced to forfeit its game after M2F 6 foot bearded ‘girl’ on the opposing team seriously injured three of its players.
“This is only the most recent situation in which males playing on a female team have caused serious injuries to girls and women forced to compete against them,” he said.
He recently criticized USA Boxing, the governing body of the sport in the United States, for adopting a new rule which would permit males (M2F trans athletes) to compete against women in a sport which “requires competitors to inflict as much harm as possible upon their opponent by punching them in the head and body.”