Center for American Progress

Counterpoint: There’s an Equality Issue in Women’s Sports — and It’s Not About Transgender Women
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Counterpoint: There’s an Equality Issue in Women’s Sports — and It’s Not About Transgender Women

In an op-ed published by DC Journal, Cait Smith debunks the toxic conservative arguments against transgender women being included in women’s sports.

2024 might be the year of women’s sports. Incredible stories of women competing abound — from Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese catapulting women’s basketball into the spotlight to Olympians Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky breaking records in Paris. With the uptick in exposure to women’s sports, some are returning to the question about where transgender athletes fit in the picture.

Proponents of trans-exclusionary sports policies argue that the government should step in to ban transgender athletes from competing. These bans would create a new and significant government overreach, especially when the vast majority of sports aren’t played at the Olympic level. Really, these policies would most affect people like students playing on teams with their friends, youth in after-school programs, and those playing club sports in public parks on summer weekends.

The above excerpt was originally published in DC Journal. Click here to view the full article.

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Author

Caleb Smith

Director, LGBTQI+ Policy

Team

LGBTQI+ Policy

The LGBTQI+ Policy team provides timely, strategic resources on policy issues affecting LGBTQI+ communities.

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