Through the eyes of a straight man: Racing with transgender athletes? Let's not argue whether or not. Let's talk about how
But who is the most beaten in such a debate? The sport itself. An industry older than humanity, when the hunt of carnivorous dinosaurs for their victims can be compared with a slight exaggeration to a cycling or biathlon fighter. So this industry is now divided by the aforementioned question.
Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter. Or faster, higher, stronger - together. Do you know what that is? It's the motto of the Olympics. It refers to the pursuit of continuous progress. The effort to unite athletes under one flag. Because athletes are one family. Unfortunately, I feel that in the case of transgender athletes, the Olympic idea is taking a beating. Because there are only two streams of opinion. A stream of opinion yes and a stream of opinion no. But let's all think for a moment about the idea of the Olympic slogan and say, following the pattern of that idea, shouldn't the fundamental question be rather how? And shouldn't the opinion stream then be one that should be united under the word how? To look for ways to make things easier for everyone? And is measuring testosterone levels really the right way of HOW to allow transgender athletes to play sports with others? Honestly? I don't like it.
WHERE IS THE FAULT? ON BOTH SIDES...
The world is not black and white. There's not just a basic 'I'm a man and I'm a woman' diversity. The world is evolving, new scientific processes are emerging, medicine is advancing by leaps and bounds, and there is a lot of new stuff we have to deal with as humanity. And how? Either we turn a blind deaf ear to each other's opinions, just waiting for an excuse to clash, or we sit down, discuss and together seek an answer to the question: how to do it? And we will solve problem after problem.
What I have a problem with with both groups of opinion is the stubbornness and aggressiveness with which they try to get their views across. On the one hand, we have a hard negative wave that is trying to defend transgender inclusion and to de facto exclude these athletes from sports venues. On the other, there are some militant LGBTQ+ activists who, in my opinion, sometimes excessively call for athletes' rights, without taking into account that every pressure creates a backlash. It's as if they don't understand that you don't get a change of opinion through violence, but rather more resistance follows because you feel forced into something. That is why I am calling out: Let's think, let's think! Let's not just be driven by the mindless words that we are entitled to something, and let's not concede something just because we don't like it. In short, let's use common sense.
The worst thing this whole "cause" is doing, in my opinion, is tarnishing the sport itself. Do all the shouters realize that it is our psyche and sportsmanship that is suffering the most here? Let's just look at the latest big issues. How has Laurel Hubbard been treated as a weightlifter at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics? What was the response after Lia Thomas won the 500m breaststroke at the US NCAA Championships? And how did you feel about Emily Bridges' cancelled participation in the UK Cycling National Championships? Was it positive? Was it celebrating a winner or a great performance? No. It doesn't really matter if the above mentioned won, participated or were denied participation. The only thing that was addressed after all those events was the transgender issue. There were questions from the athletes: why are they competing with us? Is it fair-play? Experts were thinking about it, journalists were thinking about it. The sporting community asked over and over again if these athletes should compete with women. On the other side, we hear the defence: 'I am a woman, I have undergone treatment, I am like you. I have the right to compete with you. Respect that." And with the debate set up in this way, I again miss any reference to the Olympic idea. All I see is the incitement of an almost hysterical discussion that offers no more than two predetermined perspectives. That is, a yes view and a no view.
Zdroj: Giphy
WHO IS THE MOST BIT? THE HUMAN PSYCHE
Try putting yourself in the shoes of an athlete. Why do you play sports at a professional level? Why do you compete? To be the best. But is that really what you're going into the race with in the aforementioned battle? No, it's not. You go into it with doubts, preconceived notions creeping into your mind and uncertainty prevailing. It's been reported that in professional athletes, 80% of performance is head-setting. The assumption is that they've trained enough and it's that proverbial winner's mentality that makes the difference. But we've just introduced a head setup that doesn't quite match that, have we? So who loses the most? Yes, it's the sport itself, which then goes nowhere. Instead of the slogans "Come on!" or the proverbial "If you can't, step up" and others, here's what we hear. It can't. It's not fair play. It's not a level playing field. And who is this helping? The sport? The athletes? Hardly! It only helps to create more uncertainty and doubt, which only increases in strength.
Athletes can't win anymore. They go to complain about the other guy. They want to discredit the opponent and question his performance. How many of you remember Lance Armstrong as the winner of seven editions of cycling's most famous race, the Tour de France? No one! Lance Armstrong? Yeah, he's the one who cheated. It was probably justified for him based on the evidence, but is it justified for transgender athletes? It's not. They did something that's normally possible and they just want to race. But do professional athletes who were born female feel that way? Again, no. They see the situation the way the general public sees the Lance Armstrong affair.
In addition, as a transgender athlete, do I want to spend my entire career hearing that my victory is unfair? Or that it doesn't carry weight? That I'm cheating? I'm not. I want to celebrate my victory. But most importantly, I want to be celebrated.
WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? I HAVE MY OPINION
First and foremost, I want to say that with everything I write, I'm trying to bring together a sports environment where everyone can breathe better. Where athletes will support each other, no matter who they are. And I want to look at sport as an environment where success will be celebrated and failure regretted.
The best solution to the situation in the long run, in my opinion, is to have our own competition. Why should we look skeptically at the categories of men-women-transgender women-transgender men? What is wrong with that? Let's think about it. Isn't this a way that offers positive thinking? Athletes will wish each other well. They will give each other advice. They'll support each other. Individual countries will be one step closer to social peace. Transgender athletes will be seen as heroes in society when they win, and we will celebrate their performances. No one will question their participation. And who knows, maybe one day their category will be more popular than the others. It would just depend on grasping the whole opportunity. And it sure as hell is!
The problem here, however, will certainly be with the current number of athletes who could be included in this category. The pond is still probably too small. But I believe we will get to that point, and my impression is that it will be shorter rather than longer.
That is why I think there is one very simple and pleasant solution at the moment. Instead of having our own competitions, we would run our own spreadsheet. Yes, female and transgender athletes would still compete against each other, but the scoreboard would be separate for each category. And let's think about that again, huh?
Instead of hating, questioning and not accepting the transgender competitor in the starting block, I could now use her as motivation. Yes, she may be faster, but if I stick with her, won't I be faster too? Wouldn't I be attacking my own best? So, in the end, am I not glad that I have her with me and not my other rivals?
On the other hand, I, as a transgender athlete, feel that I am accepted. After all, I participate in major sporting events with the best and no one will question my eventual victory. I am the best because I am the best. No one can question that. Yes, I think that would motivate everyone. It could promote sportsmanship and make the whole sporting environment much more accepting of transgender athletes as one of their peers in the business.
These are just my initial thoughts and there are certainly far more vocal people who could take the whole issue further, but without opinions there will be no debate and without debate there will be no solutions.
And I go back to the beginning now. We do not want one side to be happy at the expense of the other. Let us not say yes or no. Let's ask: how? Let's build bridges, not barriers. Let's do it with common sense and not with exaggerated calls for this or that justice. All around us, on television and on billboards, we see various campaigns bearing the slogan UNITE THE WORLD. The biggest sporting event in the world, which the Olympic Games clearly are, has the word UNITE in its slogan. So let's not be black and white. Let's look for ways. The world will be a healthier place and everyone will be happy to win. It's a relationship. And a healthy relationship is about compromise.
