Most women athletes oppose trans-identified male players in women’s competition

The majority of prominent female athletes do not support trans-identified biological men competing in women's sports, according to a new study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences.

The report found that 77 percent of world-class female athletes felt it was unfair for transgender women to compete in their respective sports, while 15 percent said it was fair.

The study categorized sports into three categories: "contact sports" such as boxing, sports "heavily reliant on physical capacities" such as track and field, and "precision sports" such as archery.

Among respondents, 58 percent said they favored biological sex categorization and viewed biological men competing in female competitions as unfair in all categories except for precision sports, research said.

"Most participants (47 percent) believed it was unfair for trans women to compete in the female category of contact sports and sports reliant on physical capacity, compared to 38 percent considering it fair," the study said.
 

Within the female precision sports category, 50 percent of the athletes said it was appropriate for transgender women to compete.

Regarding sports regulatory organizations, 81 percent of female athletes said that transgender athletes should be treated more kindly.

The study's authors think their findings could aid regulatory organizations in navigating the complex world of contemporary sports competition.

The perspectives of elite versus world-class, present versus retired Olympic sports athletes, and current versus recognized Olympic sports were compared in the study.

There were 26 World Champions, 22 Olympians (two gold, two silver, and three bronze), and 6 Paralympians among the athletes surveyed.

The best athletes, both active and retired, were from a variety of Western countries, with the US accounting for the largest share at 33 percent, followed by the UK at 17 percent, Canada at 15 percent, and Finland at 10 percent.

In addition, a resounding majority of respondents (94 percent) expressed support for gender transition outside of competitive settings.

This comes after trans-identified biological men have been dominating women's sports competitions across all categories, including swimming, track and field, darts, boxing, volleyball, basketball, and others.

Female competitors have raised safety concerns about this issue and have even withdrawn from competitions over having to compete against a biological male.

Earlier this month, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) declared that transgender athletes are no longer permitted to participate in women's sports.

"Only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports," the organization said.