Back in the day, females were not allowed to participate. But for decades now, they have enjoyed the benefits of competitive sport. Today we are on the verge of regressing.
The NCAA, Ivy League, and the University of Pennsylvania pressured female athletes indirectly and/or behind the scenes to stay quiet about the injustice of allowing a male to compete in the women’s category. You can read about that in a previous post.
Well, I hear these three ladies, loud and clear. Can you?
These three gals are sending a courageous message to the rest of us.
In the photo below the real women’s national champion, Emma Weyant, receives encouragement from her coach. Weyant was the Silver Medalist in the 400 meter Individual Medley at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She is a world class female athlete. And she just finished 2nd to a guy that ranked #462 as a male swimmer.
In February over a dozen of Lia’s teammates sent a protest letter to the University and the Ivy League. Here’s a portion:
Lia has every right to live her life authentically. However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone’s gender identity. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female. If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break, Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Women’s Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete.
Letter Sent to U. Penn and Ivy League (2-3-2022)
Up till now, few well-known female Olympians have spoken out about this “unfair advantage.” Corporate endorsement pressures no doubt contribute to their silence. Or a fear of being called a bigot. But we need to hear them roar as well.
Katie Ledecky, and others, time to get in this game. Women’s Sport is bigger than one person.