There are strong opinions on whether or not trans women should be allowed to compete in female-dominated sports. Some feel it provides biological male athletes an unfair advantage over female competitors in a field where women have long fought for parity. An organization changed its mind after receiving numerous complaints about the prospect of trans women being allowed to participate in a particular sport.
At the end of October, Kip Kollar, the president of the North American Grappling Association (NAGA), announced male-to-female transgender athletes would not be allowed to compete in female divisions in its organization. He said the decision was made to maintain “fairness for female athletes,” and he wants to ensure that protecting its female athletes is the league’s “paramount priority.”
Kollar stated that his choice was standard procedure. The Federation of International Swimming Associations (FINA) has issued similar declarations to those of World Rugby and other sports governing bodies. The issue is specifically with biological men who have gone through puberty as teenagers. They will, presumably, gain an unfair edge. Even more so, Kollar argued, those athletes should be barred “given the heightened potential for injury in grappling.”
The decision to restrict trans women was reportedly made in response to several protests from female athletes. Athlete Jayden Alexander was one of many in the league who objected to fighting against biological men. She described seeing a trans athlete competing as “horrible and scary,” and said she went into “fight or flight mode.”
After NAGA made the announcement, Alexander spoke to Fox News Digital and said she was very happy with the decision. She went on to say that she doesn’t believe that trans athletes should be completely banned, but she doesn’t think that someone who was born a male “should be allowed in the biological females division.”
