San Jose State University Spartan’s volley ball player Blaire Fleming (3) a transgender has been the subject of boycotts by four universities (San Jose State University photo)
The Battle for Women Sports in the US
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
Although this instance involves a Bay Area University, this issue is becoming a bigger and bigger national issue. Simple, should a biological male who transitioned to female be able to participate in biological women’s sports? Several teams have canceled matches against San José State rather than compete against the team that features transgender senior Blaire Fleming.
Below: This was the official statement by the University of Reno women’s volleyball team.
“We, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against San José State University and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University,” the statement said, referring to the other teams who have forfeited their matches. We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any game that advances injustice against female athletes.”
So, how do we approach this issue in sports as a society? According to the professionals in academia, the people who know and are authorized to talk about biology, men have more skeletal muscle than women, an average of 26 pounds. Regarding upper-body strength, men have about 40% more upper-body strength than women. Regarding lower-body strength, men have about 33% lower body strength than women.
In other words, when a male is born compared to a female, they have deeper bones, tendons, and ligaments and a greater cardiovascular reserve. Men also have larger hearts, greater lung volume, higher red blood cell counts, plus other physical advantages.
This is not a commentary but a fact revealed by people who study and are qualified to give us this type of statistical information. We are all entitled to offer our opinions on sports and cultural issues. However, most people with any common sense agree that a biological man is born with more physical attributes than a female.
70% of the country agrees that biological males who do the transformation to women should not compete against biological females. I am part of that 70%, and we cannot criticize these women in collegiate sports who refuse to play against a team that showcases a biological man.
Lia Catherine Thomas is an American swimmer and the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, having won the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in 2022 before being barred from competing in women’s events by World Aquatics.
Thomas’s career has been a part of the public debate about transgender women in women’s sports. I, for one, would not like any of my two grandaughters to compete against the biological men who transitioned to female. I consider myself fair, and in my book, such a thing is not fair.
This issue is bigger than sports, but since it is now part of our sports culture, I thought we should consider what we are doing, and should be open for debate.
Amaury Pi Gonzaelz does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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