Three Considerations in Women’s Sports

Safety, Fairness, and Inclusion

Photo by Atlas Green on Unsplash

Recently, varsity swimmer Lia Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship. This reignited the debate over whether it’s unfair for a male that transitioned into a female to compete against cisgender females.

I said reignited because there was a controversy concerning unfairness when transgender runner CeCe Telfer placed first in the 400-meter hurdles during the 2019 NCAA Women’s Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Here there are two different matters of unfairness that can’t be reconciled.

1). If a male that transitioned into a female is banned from women’s sports, the ban would constitute unfair treatment vis-à-vis discrimination against the transgender athlete.

2). If a male that transitioned into a female is allowed to compete in women’s sports, their allowance is unfair to cisgender female athletes, who will be at a competitive disadvantage.

From a legal standpoint, if the NCAA banned transgender athletes from women’s sports, the probability is high they lose a discrimination lawsuit. On the other hand, if cisgender females brought a lawsuit against the NCAA for placing them at a competitive disadvantage, the cisgender plaintiffs will…