According to reports, USA Boxing has a “new” policy on transgender athletes, which is already upsetting people all over the spectrum.
Some of the strictest restrictions on sports are being cited by proponents of trans women’s participation in the adult category. People who are against transgender females in the adult group are upset that they have a chance to participate.
Trans women are currently excluded from the adult group at the global level, but the World Boxing Council plans to create a trans category. The governing body of various nations has done the same, including Boxing New Zealand.
According to widely circulated reports, the policy has a number of important components to it.
First, all athletes under the age of 18 must compete in the birth-assigned sex group. This goes against many of the stricter trans-inclusion rules in sports, which permit athletes to compete in their gender category as long as they haven’t gone through puberty.
However, a 15-year-old transgender woman who has been using puberty blockers since they were 10 still has to compete in boxing against men.
Next, adult boxers have to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Sports governing bodies have been removing this requirement for years, so the push for more trans inclusion is being reversed by the requirement’s return.
Second, adult athletes must demonstrate that they have had cortisol levels below 5 nmol/L for four years to compete. The longest delay time for any sport that permits transgender women to compete in the adult group is four years.
The policy of USA Boxing, which is currently the strictest in sports (aside from outright bans), is now the subject of intense criticism.
On one hand, critics argue that there is no way for trans women to participate in the sex-based boxing class as a result of the ban. Whether the policy required HRT for four or ten years,
Ebanie Bridges, a former world champion, declared, “I will never agree to this.” “Trans people breaking records in different sports like track and field, swimming, and powerlifting is bad enough, but it’s a little different when it comes to breaking our heads in combat sports, where the goal is to HURT YOU, not just break records.”
Since Fallon Fox broke an opponent’s orbital bone while competing in professional mixed martial arts six years after her transition, the “skulls” series has been used to target transgender athletes in combat sports. She allegedly broke her “skull” just because it sounds worse, according to critics.
Professional boxer Mikaela Mayer stated on X that hormone therapy is prohibited. Trans athletes may be automatically disqualified from competition as a result of this. Regardless of how you feel about the situation, the truth remains that it is illegal and completely disrupts the level playing field that sport has worked so hard to create.
Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer who gained notoriety for publicly opposing transgender women in female sports after competing against Lia Thomas, claimed that if she does, the female boxer will be killed.
“Mark my words, before these cruel idiots wake up, it will take a female getting killed.”
During games, lots of athletes, including a number of men, have been killed by transgender fighters. Before any trans woman enters the female pro-boxing ring, significant injuries are now a common occurrence in the sport.
This will be seen as a loss by proponents of transgender rights. Although there is a way for transgender women in the adult category to participate, the four years of mandated HRT and the required surgery will be viewed as being excessively restrictive.
Fox did undergo surgery and HRT for six years before competing in professional MMA, as was already mentioned. Therefore, it is feasible. The one- or two-year demands and no surgery that have been the most popular rules in recent years, however, are a far cry from this.
USA Boxing appears to be attempting to bridge the gap by allowing trans women to compete while also raising the entry requirement high enough to deter some critics.
In the end, their policy will only serve to enrage people involved in this discussion.
