The results of the study are unsurprising. On a purely statistical basis, when one examines the effect of trans women competing in women’s sports, we find no apparent advantage. Trans women are not rewriting record books. They do not dominate women’s competitions in any area of sports. They are not garnering fame and financial awards at the expense of cis women. Indeed there is no indicator that they have any kind of an unfair advantage at all. The bigger “scandals“ have traditionally surrounded such things as the participation of people like Caster Semenya, born and considered female, but actually intersex with a naturally higher testosterone level or the all too common doping scandals involving certain less than ethical National Olympic teams engaged in widespread doping. Athletes everywhere look for any small advantage to give them an edge.
Given the hyper competitiveness, money and prestige surrounding national and professional sports competitions, if a “win-at-all-costs” national committee or professional sports team thought they could get an unfair advantage by recruiting and utilizing transgender athletes, we would see this frequently. We do not simply because trans women athletes as a group do not offer an unfair advantage in team competition.
The current furor regarding the participation of trans athletes seems to be driven by two factors. The obvious one is simple bigotry, whether due to ignorance of the facts or irrational hate. Secondarily, I have noticed that the loudest voices seem to come from those engaged in high-level competition (and their supporters), who are not the extraordinary athletes who tend to be most successful. Rather, they are the more mainstream competitors who will never achieve the fame and financial rewards of the truly elite. It is not surprising that they would look for any edge whatsoever, since their expectations and self assessment are unrealistic.. If they cannot compete head to head, trying to eliminate competitors with an “unfair” advantage is just another way to achieve their aims. But it is inherently dishonest.
As with many of the other current hot button issues, the debate is driven more by emotion and self interest than any kind of evidence. Qualitatively it is not much different than the controversy over abortion or immigration. It is time for people to stop reacting and spend some time thinking and analyzing the evidence to come up with legitimate, rational solutions where the answers are not as obvious as they may appear superficially. The IOC study is a good step in this direction.
