Skateboarder Taylor Silverman took to Instagram on Wednesday to call out Red Bull for allowing a biological male to compete against female athletes at a recent skate contest.
In the post, Silverman issued her statement on the matter, and also included an email she sent to Red Bull Senior Sports Marketing Manager Erich Dummer.
"I am a female athlete. I have been skateboarding for eleven years and competing for several years. I have been in three different contests with trans women, two of which I placed second. At the last contest series I did for Redbull, I placed second," said Silverman.
She explained that at that contest, "the trans competitor who won took $1000 dollars in qualifiers, $3000 in finals, and $1000 in best trick. This totaled to $5000 of the prize money meant for the female athletes. I took $1000 in qualifiers and $1750 for second place, so $2750 in total. The girl who took third received $750. The girl who deserved $1000 for best trick took nothing along with whoever would have placed third."
Female skateboarded Taylor Silverman is speaking out after placing 2nd to a male competitor who identifies as a woman at the @Redbull Cornerstone contest.
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) May 18, 2022
Silverman and other female skateboarders were robbed of their achievements and prize money "that was meant for women." pic.twitter.com/jVA48itMRa
"I deserve to place first, be acknowledged for my win, and get paid. I reached out to Redbull and was ignored. I am sick of being bullied into silence," Silverman stated.
In the email, Silverman said that she wanted to "express my concerns about what occurred at the Red Bull Cornerstone contest with the transgender competitor in the women’s division."
"A biological man with a clear advantage won the women’s division, best trick, and also won multiple qualifiers. This took away the opportunity that was meant for women to place and earn money," wrote Silverman. "What happened was unfair and at the time I was too uncomfortable to speak up."
"I understand that in todays society even some women think this is acceptable, but I believe in doing the right thing even if it’s not the popular thing. I now realize it’s really important for me to speak up and I’d like to schedule a time to talk," she concluded.
Lilian Gallagher, who placed ahead of Silverman, won first in the 2021 Red Bull Cornerstone Contest, also winning best trick.
In response to Silverman’s post, countless Instagram users lashed out against the female skateboarder, calling her transphobic, and telling her to get better at skateboarding.
"Lmao this isn’t even the first time you’ve whined about not getting first place. Go get better at your skating and learn what good sportsmanship is," one user wrote.
"wasting time being transphobic and posting essays when you could be skating. that’s why you ain’t win 1st place," another said.
"you’re just sh*t at skating lol," said one user.
"lol or you could just … be better at skating & actually win the already fair contest?" Another added.
Once again a man wins a woman’s sporting event
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) May 18, 2022
If there’s no difference in gender why have no trans men won any competitions https://t.co/0rFzz32t1I
The push to separate sports by biological sex gained traction throughout the beginning of this year after transgender UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas was seen winning swimming races far ahead of other biological female competitors.
This has resulted in a number of states passing legislation enforcing the separation of sports teams by a person's birth sex. States that passed these legislations include Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Dakota.
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