California Gov. Gavin Newsom does not like being on Donald Trump’s side on any issue.
But when it comes to transgender girls and women in sports, particularly at the school level, the Democrat said he largely agrees with the Republican president. Newsom, one of his party’s leading White House prospects, believes it’s “deeply unfair” for people who are assigned male at birth to compete against girls.
“I don’t want to be on that side of it, but I’m being honest — I’d be lying to you if I said differently,” Newsom told The Associated Press as he was campaigning recently in South Carolina. “I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it fair from my perspective.”
Newsom is not alone.
While most Democratic officials remain steadfast supporters of the transgender community, an increasing number in red and blue states are distancing themselves from their party’s unflinching support for the transgender community’s policy priorities, such as allowing athletes to compete on teams that match their gender identity. The shift follows years of conservative attacks against Democrats on the divisive issue, which affects a relatively small number of transgender people and their families, but has emerged as one of Republicans’ most potent political weapons in the Trump era.
Why stop there? Let’s make sports very fair!
If you can run faster, you get weighed down with bricks! If you can punch harder, you have to wear gloves!
It’s funny to me of all of the things they think people can self-regulate, somehow sports aren’t among those. Somehow, we need genital inspectors.
Somehow, the corporations that pollute our water and air can figure out what the right amount of pollution is without government oversight, but the girl’s tennis team at the local high school just can’t help themselves, they need the long arm of the federal government to intervene!
This country is a foul joke.
In what world is Newsom a leading Democratic prospect?!
I’d put PBS up there with James Carvel on having their finger on the pulse of the democratic base.
“Recalibrating” is an interesting way to spell “betraying.”
The way California handled it at women’s state track this past season I think is a fair balance. There was a MTF gal that took second in some race, and she and another each got credit for second place. At least until a better solution comes up, I don’t see why that would be an issue.
I can see an argument why that’s not fair to a trans individual for singling them out, but in that same vein there’s an argument about how a MTF may have biological advantages over the competition.
If the above can’t be achieved, I think allowing trans in sports is the right call. As someone that was a competitive athlete, I have to admit that I didn’t just jump to this opinion and did have to reason with myself. I was never against it, but still had instinctive doubts.
That’s not to defend Newsome at all, he’s a snake. Even if these are is true beliefs, that he doesn’t want to be on that side and perhaps it’s a moral dilemma he knows is wrong, he can absolutely do better than this.
Its dumb that politicians are even involved in this non-issue, its the same with trans medical stuff, in what other areas would a sleazy politician ever be invited to dictate what happens between a person and their dr/medical care?
There’s a parallel in these things that I feel gets missed in all the hubbub. Why are their opinions or attention warranted, much less demanded on either matter? Why so quick to praise one and condemn the other with the same hand.
Hey, maybe don’t cosplay a sports expert and let the actual sports experts decide the rules for their sport. You know, just a thought.
Before they bowed down to Trump I think the NCAA had a fair policy. If an athlete had not gone through puberty as a male then they were eligible for the female division. Of course the bans on puberty blockers quickly made that a moot policy.
