(Headline USA) Former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe joined a letter to the NCAA this week urging the sports governing body not to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports.
The notorious leftist was one of several prominent female athletes to sign the letter. Others included U.S. women’s soccer players Becky Sauerbrunn, Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams, and former WNBA players Sue Bird, Brianna Turner and Layshia Clarendon. Olympic silver medalist swimmer Brooke Forde also signed on to it.
“We, the undersigned, call upon the NCAA, a governing body meant to serve athletes and our wellbeing, to ensure that the lifesaving power of sport is accessible to all athletes who compete in championship and emerging sports at and for NCAA-member institutions— including transgender athletes,” the letter said.
“To deny transgender athletes the fundamental right to be who they are, to access the sport they love, and to receive the proven mental and physical health benefits of sport goes against the very principles of the NCAA’s Constitution,” it added.
Rapinoe and the other athletes ignored arguments that allowing male-bodied athletes to compete against women endangers the physical safety of those women, instead claiming that banning male-bodied athletes would be an even greater safety threat.
“By barring transgender athletes, you would be severely limiting the capacity of your member institutions to protect and support their athletes,” it claimed. “Moreover, you would be actively disparaging transgender athletes—the same athletes you chose to protect when you agreed to serve on the Board of Governors”.
The athletes went on to claim that the debate over transgenders in women’s sports misses the real issues, which are “unequal pay, failure to uphold Title IX, rampant sexual abuse and harassment of women and girl athletes, and a lack of equal resources for men’s and women’s teams.”
Critics say that allowing biological men into women’s sports directly facilitates and exacerbates many of those very issues, while at least nullifying the arguments over unequal pay and resources.
In a separate statement, Rapinoe called on other “cis women athletes” to “affirm” transgender athletes’ “right” to compete in women’s sports.
“The time is now to say loud and clear that bans against trans athletes framed as ‘protecting women’s sports’ do not speak for us, and do nothing to protect us,” she said. “To the trans athletes fearing that they may be sidelined from the sport they love: I see you and hear you and I am WITH YOU.”
