Transgender Action Online

Samantha

News Staff

From: Seattle, WA, USA

Registered: 2023-05-06

Posts: 13

FIFA reviews transgender rules

https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/w … 023-07-16/

While women's soccer boasts fierce LGBT advocates, FIFA reviews transgender rules

By Lori Ewing
July 16, 20234:36 PM UTC

MANCHESTER, England, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. soccer veteran Megan Rapinoe raised the ire of retired tennis great Martina Navratilova when she said this week she would "absolutely" support a trans woman playing on the American squad.

The inclusion of transgender athletes in women's events is one of the most contentious and divisive issues in sport with World Athletics and World Aquatics among global federations that have tightened their rules in recent months.

Navratilova, a trailblazer for gay rights, tweeted a one-word response: "Yikes . . ."

Rapinoe and partner, retired WNBA star Sue Bird, were among the 40 professional athletes to sign a letter to U.S. lawmakers in April, opposing a federal bill that stipulates Title IX compliance requires banning transgender athletes from playing women and girl's sport. Title IX is a 1970s civil rights law which bars discrimination based on sex.

Critics of transgender inclusion in women's sport say going through male puberty imbues athletes with a huge physical advantage that transition does not mitigate.

Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Nick Mulvenney and Michael Perry

Last edited by SarahEL (2023-07-17 21:56:53)