The Olympics’ shameful transgender cop out

The International Olympic Committee have just released a new framework for transgender and intersex inclusion in sports. The old Olympic guidelines from 2015 allowed Laurel Hubbard, a transgender weightlifter, to compete with women in Tokyo and were clearly not fit for purpose – even the IOC admitted that. But this new document is arguably even worse.

The IOC begins with ten principles it will follow, the first of which is ‘inclusion’. Fair enough, sport should be inclusive – but it must also be safe and fair. Here, the IOC fails spectacularly. For generations, sport has been segregated by sex. Otherwise, women would be unable to compete with men. That truth should not be controversial. But this is 2021 and gender identity ideology has now swept through liberal society.

And on this, the IOC has rolled over completely.

It states that: ‘Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle four, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.’