Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner on Monday endorsed Nassau County’s controversial ban on transgender athletes.
Jenner, who was once considered the world’s greatest male athlete and later came out as transgender, says the sport’s future is at stake: “It’s surprising how much I get a lot of criticism and all I’m trying to do is protect women,” said Jenner, winner of the 1976 Olympic men’s decathlon.
“You must compete with the biological sex you were born into. This is essential to protect competitive integrity in women’s sports.”
District Executive Bruce Blakeman, who has banned transgender athletes from competing on women’s teams at district facilities because of their unfair physical advantage, invited Jenner.
ALSO READ: Female Athletes Unhappy After Being Asked to ‘Lose Gracefully’ to Trans Competitors
“There are huge benefits and undeniable differences in male development, which essentially occur during male puberty,” Jenner said.
Defenders of Trans say it is disappointing that the world’s most famous transgender person would use his platform in a way that hurts already marginalized people.
“They portray her as a representative of the transgender community when we see her as nothing more than a reality TV star,” said Juli-Grey-Owens, director of Gender Equality New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James ruled that the ban discriminated against transgender people, but Blakeman fought back.
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“It is not anti-trans. This is about protecting women and girls, who are a protected class under federal law in the United States Constitution,” Blakeman said.
“Women are a protected class, as are transgender, but the bottom line here is that women are not discriminated against. Transgender people are like that.
So let’s be realistic about the issues here,” said David Kilmnick of the LGBT Network. Blakeman said the ban was proactive and admitted there were no real local examples.
ALSO READ: Oregon High School Trans Athlete Sparks Outrage on Social Media After Competing Against Girls
“People come up to me every day and thank me for being there to protect women’s sports,” Jenner said. “I think it’s better to deal with this now than when women and girls are hurting,” said Trinity Reed, a college lacrosse player.
The Civil Liberties Union sued Nassau County on behalf of a women’s rollerball team that welcomes transgender players and would be banned from using county facilities.
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