The Culture Secretary has said that transgenders should be banned from competing in elite women’s sport. Nadine Dorries said yesterday that asking women and teenage girls to compete against someone who was biologically born a male is inherently unfair.
According to the BBC:
Dorries met representatives from 15 sports including football, cricket, rugby, tennis and athletics plus UK Sport and Sport England bosses.
Swimming’s world governing body Fina recently voted to stop transgender athletes from competing in women’s elite events if they have gone through any part of the male puberty process.
Britain’s Olympic diving champion Tom Daley has said he is “furious” at Fina’s decision.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in April he did not believe transgender women should compete in female sporting events.
Dorries urged the governing bodies “to adopt the government’s unequivocal view” on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports…
“Sport is for everyone, no matter where you’ve come from in life. It allows people to come together and perform on a level playing field, based upon basic fairness and the integrity of competition,” said Dorries.
“The government has the utmost compassion for people born into a body they don’t recognise. But we can’t pretend that sex doesn’t have a direct impact on a person’s athletic performance.
Asking women and teenage girls to compete against someone who was biologically born a male is inherently unfair.
“I recognise that this is a complex and emotionally charged issue, so I welcome the support of our domestic governing bodies to protect and show compassion to all athletes. In the interests of sporting integrity, we must bring clarity to protect the future interests of sport around the world.”