(Headline USA) A Washington Post poll published this week shows that a majority of Americans oppose allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports at the high school, collegiate and professional level.
The poll, conducted May 4-17 among 1,503 people across the U.S., found that 55% of Americans do not believe transgender athletes should be able to compete against biological women and girls in high school sports, and 58% opposed allowing them to compete against women and girls in college and professional sports.
At the K-12 level, 49% are opposed to transgender athletes competing against girls.
The controversial issue rose to national prominence after transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who competed as a male on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swimming team for two years before deciding to transition, won a female record at the NCAA championships.
Many of Thomas’s female teammates have anonymously spoken out against the swimmer, arguing that he stole their competitive opportunities. But Thomas has insisted that he and other transgender athletes are not a threat to female competition.
“I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman, and I was prepared for that,” Thomas said in May. “But I also don’t need anybody’s permission to be myself and to do the sport that I love.
“I intend to keep swimming … It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through,” Thomas added.
Thomas also dismissed criticism from health experts who have pointed out that biological men have an enormous physical advantage over females even after years of hormonal treatment.
“I’m not a medical expert, but there’s a lot of variation among cis female athletes,” Thomas said.
“There are cis women who are very tall and very muscular and have more testosterone than another cis woman, and should that then also disqualify them?”
