USA Boxing Allowing Transgender Women To Compete With Females Could Be A Bad Idea
The topic of transgender athletes has been a controversial one since it’s inception. Many amateur and professional sporting organizations like the NCAA and the Olympics have already executed policies on the matter and have allowed these athletes to compete. Recently, USA Boxing, the governing body for Olympic-style boxing, has jumped on-board.
The following is a statement USA Boxing released regarding the inclusion of transgender athletes.
THE RISKS
According to the policy, transgender women over the age of eighteen that adhere to a set of requirements are allowed to compete against non-trans women. The controversy here is obvious. Despite the stated “checks and balances” to mitigate the amount of testosterone and hormone levels said athlete can have in their bodies prior to competition, this does not include the natural performance advantages men have over women. Examples would include, but are not limited to:
- Greater Lung Capacity
- Larger Hearts to transport more oxygen during exercise
- Greater Overall Bone Density
- Greater Muscle Mass
Undergoing gender reassignment surgery does not alleviate the aforementioned advantages an athlete could have. This is not to say all non-trans women would unsuccessfully be able to compete with a transgender woman athlete, however, the risk is apparent.
CONCERNED PROFESSIONALS
Many professional boxers have expressed their opinions as social media responses to the policy. Of them, Former WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring, eight-division champion Amanda Serrano and former unified women’s junior lightweight champ Mikaela Mayer were not in agreement!
Nevertheless, other boxing-based organizations like the World Boxing Council (WBC) have expressed making a similar move for sometime. Therefore, fans and the fighters may very well see this play out in the near future!
