New Zealand will stop funding sporting organizations that permit transgender women (i.e., biological men) to compete against biological women, a government spokesman declared on December 20. At least one “woke” sports body has already pledged to resist the policy.
Permitting trans women to compete in female sports “compromises fairness in competitions and in some cases safety as well,” Andy Foster, a spokesman for the New Zealand First party told reporters.
Foster elaborated that a new policy agreement between his group and its coalition partner, the National Party, would “ensure publicly funded sporting bodies support fair competition that is not compromised by rules relating to gender.”
Although various international sporting bodies have already banned biological males from competing against females, youth and amateur competitions will have to abide by the New Zealand government’s regulations.
“With rugby, athletics, boxing, you can see why power, weight and speed become a real issue,” he explained. “If there’s a teenage girl against a former teenage boy, your child is going to get hurt.”
Foster said that the new rules will be introduced some time before the government’s sport and recreation agency distributes NZ$9.3 million ($5.82 million) in funding next year. Groups that refuse to ban biological men from female competitions will not be able to obtain any of the funding, he said.
“If [an organization] says, ‘We don’t want to do that’, that’s their choice but they shouldn’t then expect the taxpayer to say ‘we’re delighted to support you doing something which we see as unsafe and unfair,’” he added.
Studies have revealed that trans women retain an athletic advantage over biological women even after two years of taking female hormones. Until recently, international sporting organizations have typically required “transgender” women to prove that their testosterone levels fall within the normal range for adult women before being allowed to compete, but many — including World Athletics and the International Cycling Union — have since enforced blanket bans.
Low testosterone levels are not sufficient to “completely eliminate the benefits of testosterone during puberty in men,” the International Cycling Union said earlier this year, adding that “transgender” women enjoy “biomechanical advantages” owing to their male bone structure.
Among the “transgender” women who have dominated their female competitors are New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard — who went from an amateur weightlifter with scores below international standards to an Olympic athlete after transitioning — and Anne Andres, a Canadian weightlifter who beat the women’s world record when he lifted a combined 200 kg more than his nearest female opponent at a Canadian Powerlifting Union championship this August.
Notwithstanding the prospects of losing its funding, New Zealand Cricket has said it will “continue to prioritize inclusivity and accommodate trans women in women’s cricket,” while Sport New Zealand announced that it will advise individual organizations to decide for themselves whether to permit transgender competitors.
In the United States, more than a month ago, nine Republican governors submitted a joint letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requesting that the organization “rewrite” its policy to bar gender-confused individuals from competing against the opposite sex.
A group of state leaders submitted a request to the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), led by South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem. The letter sought a change in the organization’s Transgender Student Athlete Policy and was addressed to the committee “responsible for reviewing this policy and recommending changes to the NCAA Board of Governors.”
The current policy permits the “national governing body” of a given sport to determine its “transgender [sic] student-athlete participation.” The NCAA Board of Governors was also included in the message owing to that body’s responsibility in having “initially passed” the policy.
“The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without concern of inequities,” the letter read. “But this policy allows the NCAA to avoid responsibility for ensuring the fairness of collegiate sports — therefore it must be changed.”
The letter quoted research to back the reality that “it is fundamentally unfair for a biological male to compete against a biological female” regardless of a biological man’s self-proclaimed “gender identity.” Citing data from the National Institutes for Health, the letter pointed out that there was a 10-percent average “difference between the top performing males and females in athletic competition.”
In a bid to highlight its message, the letter included an anecdote of former NCAA swimmer turned women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines, who, despite having tied with the gender-confused William “Lia” Thomas in a race, was not given the usual honor of that attainment. Rather, the trophy was awarded to Thomas instead of Gaines and Thomas sharing the podium.
Gaines, who came into the spotlight after speaking out about the injustices of forcing females to compete against biological males, condemned the Biden administration’s suggested new interpretation of Title IX, which ended sex-based discrimination in educational institutions that obtain federal funding.
The Biden administration’s recommended updates to the statute would prevent schools from imposing a blanket ban on males participating in female sports, contradicting the laws of at least 20 states that already ban “transgender” athletes from competing against the opposite sex.
“Who is working to minimize the harm done to female athletes?” Gaines said. “Let me be perfectly clear. A school that knowingly allows a male athlete to take a spot on a women’s team or allows a male athlete to take the field in a women’s game is denying a female student athletic opportunity.”
“And that is sex-based discrimination, and it violates Title IX, regardless of what the new regulations might say,” she elaborated.
Likewise, the aforementioned Republican governors pointed out that Olympic gold medalist track and field athlete Allyson Felix’s record time of under 50 seconds has been beaten by teenage boys, further indicating “that male and female bodies are biologically different.”
“If you continue the NCAA’s misguided policies, stories like Riley Gaines’ will only become more common,” the letter warned. “Policies that allow men and women to compete against one another validate an average male athlete stealing the recognition from a truly remarkable female athlete.”
Besides, the letter stated that the role of securing fairness in women’s sports fell onto state governors “due to the lack of action at the federal level.”
“As governors of our states, it is our responsibility to care for our constituents, and we are doing all we can do to protect the fairness of athletics in our states. Now, it is time for the NCAA to do the same and make the best decision for all of your athletes.”
