Unfair for Women to Shoulder Struggles of Trans Sportspeople: Aussie Christian Activist

Penn Quakers transgender swimmer Lia Thomas holds a trophy after finishing first in the 500 freestyle at the NCAA Womens Swimming & Diving Championships at Georgia Tech. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)

An Australian Christian activist has argued that it’s not fair that biological women with sporting ambitions are being forced to shoulder the gender struggles of trans athletes.

Martyn Iles, the managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, said a man who “takes advantage and causes injustice for women” should be held responsible regardless of whether “he’s struggling with himself or if he has a complicated history.”

Iles said that people “struggling in themselves,” such as trans people, require “sympathy,” however he noted that it becomes “another thing if a person starts acting out in such a way that they inflict injustice on other people.”

“That requires condemnation,” he wrote on Facebook on March 20.

Iles described the recent win of a U.S. transgender athlete in the women’s 500 metre category at the NCAA swimming championship as “inglorious and shameful.” He put forward the idea that it should be condemned “no matter how hard the culture resists it.”

The transgender athlete, Lia Thomas, was ranked 462nd in men’s swimming before transitioning to female in 2019 and then going on to set multiple records in women’s meets.

Thomas’ victory at the NCAA on March 17 over Olympic silver medalists Emma Weyant, a biological female, put the debate surrounding trans sportspeople competing in women’s events in the spotlight, prompting the Christian activist to speak up.

“God authored the truth about biology and sex, and has shown us how to respect it,” Iles said. “And the man who transgresses this limit is doing a grave wrong which needs to be called out.”

Amid growing concerns that biological male athletes would enjoy unfair advantages if participating in women’s sports, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has urged the International Olympic Committee to impose regulations for trans athletes across every sport.

“There is no question to me that testosterone is the key determinant in performance,” he told the Daily Telegraph, “You can’t be oblivious to public sentiment, of course not. But science is important.”

“Gender cannot trump biology,” he said.

On March 21, Virginia tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy released a statement accusing Thomas of taking her spot and arguing that for “every event that transgender athletes competed in” one spot was taken “away from biological females throughout the meet.”

In Australia, the majority of large sporting organisations have allowed trans women athletes to compete in women’s categories.

On Feb. 10, Tasmanian Liberal Sen. Claire Chandler introduced a bill to the Senate which would make it legal to ask a male competitor not to play in the female category. The legislation was backed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who described it as a “terrific bill.”