John and Jake: Where’s the line when it comes to transgender children competing in sports?
May 27, 2024, 10:10 AM | Updated: May 28, 2024, 6:57 am
Bend of a running track. (Photo: Ben Sutherland via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: Ben Sutherland via Flickr Creative Commons)
Elizabeth Wilson’s middle-school daughter took second place in the invitation-only Junior Olympic race for the 1600, but Wilson believes the first-place winner had an unfair advantage.
“When she was on the starting line, we did notice that this athlete was quite differently built. And we could tell something was a little different at that point, but their backs returned to us so we couldn’t see their faces,” Wilson told “The John and Jake Show” on KIRO Newsradio last week. “And so we had no idea. And it wasn’t until they stepped up on that podium that the chatter started to go around the field.”
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Wilson’s daughter later told her the first-place winner was a boy. Her daughter also shared that she believed she could have won first place if she had known that, to which Wilson responded that she just wasn’t sure.
“It’s just he’s just stronger and faster. And you could see that as he did that last, you know, 100 meters. He was he just came flying by and she had given it everything she had. And he just had more,” she said.
John Curley host of “The John and Jake Show” noted that the way the rules are written is that anyone can compete by what gender they identify as.
Curley added that boys are built with a larger lung capacity and a different hip structure, inferring a biological advantage
Wilson shared that she thinks it isn’t fair for girls to compete against a biological boy. However, she also believes the online attacks the transgender child faced were unfair.
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“I hope that we can find a way to make it fair for girls, and also for this transgender child as well, that he can race somewhere and not be ridiculed,” she said.
Wilson added the solution is simple — create a co-ed division where anyone can race.
To listen to the entire podcast with more details about what happened during the race and how Wilson’s daughter was affected, click below:
Listen to John Curley and Jake Skorheim weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for The John Curley Show.
