Caitlyn Jenner says trans pupils shouldn’t play girls’ sport

Caitlyn Jenner, who won the men’s Olympic decathlon gold before transitioning to a woman, says it’s unfair for non-transgender girls to face trans opponents.

Caitlyn Jenner. Picture: Getty Images

Caitlyn Jenner, who won the men’s Olympic decathlon gold medal before transitioning to become a woman decades later, has said that she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school.

Jenner, 71, a reality TV personality who is running as a Republican for the governorship of California, said that it was unfair for cisgender, or non-transgender, girls to face trans opponents.

More than two dozen Republican state legislatures are preparing bills to ban trans girls from girls’ sports after several examples attracted national controversy.

Jenner said last month that she would stand for the governor’s job after opponents of Gavin Newsom, the Democratic incumbent, raised enough signatures to press for a recall vote this autumn, a year before his term ends, amid dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic.

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida who is regarded as a potential presidential candidate, said last week that he would sign a bill that was rushed through the state legislature to ban trans girls from girls’ sports.

Bruce Jenner on the way to winning Olympic gold in 1976. Picture: Tony Duffy /Allsport

Jenner with his Olympic Games gold medal. Picture: Popperfoto.

Jenner, who won Olympic gold in 1976, told TMZ: “This is a question of fairness. That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school. It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”

Newsom has a long record of defending trans rights. When the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era order allowing trans students to choose which school lavatories they used, Newsom tweeted: “Trump admin makes life more difficult for one of the most vulnerable groups of ppl, citing their desire to further ostracize them.”

Trans youth deserve the right to play the sports that bring them joy and give them confidence. #LetKidsPlaypic.twitter.com/eTQvD46zVB

— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) April 30, 2021

Jenner has campaigned to raise awareness of trans rights but her views on school sports put her at odds with other advocates. Lambda Legal, a legal organisation for LGBT rights, tweeted: “Trans youth deserve the right to play the sports that bring them joy and give them confidence. #LetKidsPlay”

President Biden signed an executive order in his first days in office to guarantee equality in schools; it was interpreted by conservatives as forcing schools to accept trans girls in girls’ sports or lose funding.

Transgender athlete Rachel McKinnon won gold at the 2019 Masters Track Cycling World Championships.

The White House said it was reinforcing the status quo as set out in Supreme Court rulings and pointed to National Collegiate Athletic Association guidelines.

The regulator requires one year of hormone treatment for trans women athletes before they can compete on a women’s team.

Trans men remain eligible to compete in women’s events until beginning a transition using testosterone.

The Times