Transgender athletes are not a “threat to safety or fairness,” according to MSNBC host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
She made the comments on her show Sunday in the context of criticism that Democrats were too extreme on transgender issues, which contributed to their loss on election night.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), for example, came out against boys competing against girls after the election, but he has continued to receive backlash from his own party. Psaki specifically criticized Moulton during her segment on Sunday.
She referenced ads that “created the perception” of widespread domination by boys in girls’ sports.
“Look, reflection is good, but if that were actually an issue at thousands of schools across the country, it would be worthy of a debate,” she said. “But there are just incredibly few examples of transgender girls playing in youth sports. And when we see those examples, there isn’t evidence that these kids are a threat to safety or fairness.”
But male athletes competing against females is both a threat to safety and fairness. Consider high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, who suffers from paralysis after a male opponent spiked the ball into her head. Transgender basketball players have also led to injuries in high school games, including in Vermont and Massachusetts.
Female athletes are not in danger of being harmed in all sports, but there is still an issue of fairness. For example, Rochester Institute of Technology runner Sadie Schreiner competes against women, despite being a biological male. It is true Schreiner does not win every race, but in May, Schreiner took first place in four different races. Baseball players who take steroids do not hit home runs every time, but that does not undermine general concerns about an unfair advantage.
Schreiner took first place in the 200-meter dash at the Liberty League Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 24.14 seconds. That time would not have qualified Schreiner for the championship race had Schreiner competed against men.
Even granting Psaki’s premise that it is not happening “at thousands of schools” would not preclude legal protections for girls’ sports. Policymakers are correct to get ahead of an issue before it becomes more widespread — society should not wait for hundreds of girls to suffer paralyzing volleyball injuries at the hands of male athletes before making changes.
But even if there were no injuries as a result of male athletes competing against females, the fundamental matter of fairness would still exist. Men, on average, are stronger and faster than women, which gives them an advantage in almost every sport. The reason we have sex-segregated sports is so that each of the two sexes can have an opportunity to play in sports against people who are, on average, the same size. This is the same reason high schoolers do not typically play against third graders, even of the same sex.
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Because Psaki is an experienced political communicator, it seems reasonable to assume she understands the matters at play. After all, she said after the election that “over-listening” to “Never Trumpers” was a bad strategy for Democrats. Instead, her party should have listened to the “people who left the Democratic Party.”
It would be beneficial if the Democrats listened to people such as Moulton and others who are warning their peers not to embrace transgender athletes and instead to side with girls. Female athletes deserve protection from transgender competitors who are physically stronger, hurt them, and take their medals.
Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
