Former Great Britain Olympic medalist Sharron Davies condemned the transgender athlete Cece Telfer for participating in a women’s event, stating that it is equal to cheating. Davies voiced her opinion after Telfer made history for being the first openly transgender transgender athlete to obtain a NCAA title in 2019.
Preliminary Races
Per The Daily Mail,
Telfer progressed to the final event after successfully securing fifth place in the preliminary races.
Disqualified
However,
Telfer allegedly chose to disqualify during the pivotal deciding race.
It Is A Trigger
Sharron Davies’ reaction was sparked by a picture of Telfer that was circulating on social media.
A video was also shared showing Telfer warming up for the race, depicting the sprinter warming up for the race.
Spot The Male Athlete
Davies wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“Spot the male athlete in the women’s race! It’s simply cheating.”
Push Back
Due to her stance,
The 61-year-old was faced with significant push back from the transgender activists.
Olympics In Moscow
Davies, a swimmer that won a silver in the 1980 400m medley at the Moscow Olympics
Is among other former athletes that challenge transgender athletes participating in women’s sports.
Decision Made By NIKE
Previously Davies had disregarded Nike’s decision to partner up with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney
In an ad to model their sports bras and leggings.
Run like a girl
“In the past, it was always seen as an insult to say, ‘run like a girl’ — and here we’ve got someone behaving in a way that’s very un-sportslike, that’s very unathletic.
And it’s so frustrating when only 1% of USA sponsorship dollars go to actual females in sport that they would do this.”
“Kick In The Teeth”
Later Davies called NIKE’s decision,
“a kick in the teeth to women.” Davies stated that Mulvaney’s depiction of women in the ad seemed like a “parody.”
NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has introduced a policy that prohibits transgender females from participating in biological women’s sports.
The NAIA Council of Presidents unanimously approved this significant measure with a 20-0 vote.
Difference In Opinions
“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there,”
NAIA President Jim Carr expressed to CBS Sports. “For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA.”
Current Regulation
The updated regulation is not applicable to all competitions,
In replacement of the prior rule that only pertained to postseason events.
Title IX
“We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created.
You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
Categories Of Gender
All athletes under the jurisdiction of the NAIA must compete in the gender category that is inline with their gender that was assigned at birth.
Seems fair right?
Athletes That Are Transgender
Carr stressed that transgender athletes are still allowed to engage in sports activities.
They just must do so in their birth assigned categories.
Mens sports
Carr explained,
“It’s important to know that the male sports are open to anyone.”
Polar Opposite
This policy is the polar opposite to what the NCAA’s approach is,
Where eligibility criteria for transgender athletes is decided by the governing bodies of each individual sport.
Regulations
Additionally,
the regulation permits transgender athletes to partake in exhibition matches and non-NAIA sanctioned events.
College Sports
NCAA made this statement, “College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and the NCAA will continue to promote Title IX,
make unprecedented investments in women’s sports, and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”
Riley Gaines
Riley Gaines and a group of former female athletes have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA,
alleging a violation of their Title IX rights.
Locker Rooms
They assert that the organizations required them to compete against,
And share locker rooms with a transgender athlete.
Amy Novak
The chair of the Council of Presidents and President of St. Ambrose University, Amy Novak said,
“The task force spent nearly two years reviewing research, meeting with experts to better understand potential policy challenges, and obtaining feedback from multiple membership groups.”
Fairness In The Competition
“With this policy, the NAIA has made its best effort to allow for the inclusion of transgender athletes in any way
that does not impact the competitive fairness of women’s sports.”
Integrity
“Our priority is to protect the integrity of women’s athletics
and allow them equal opportunity to succeed.”
Presidents Of Universities
Before the vote, a survey was conducted where 58 out of the 67 university presidents
and chancellors who participated indicated their backing for the proposed rule modification.
