CNN’s recent documentary, ‘The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper: The Battle Over Transgender Athletes’, can hardly be considered an unbiased portrayal of the encroachment of transgenderism on women’s sports. Instead, the program seems to have an agenda, presenting a skewed perspective that conveniently glosses over the common-sense viewpoint many Americans hold.
Can we really believe that men who undergo a gender transition and infiltrate women’s sports have no advantage? That’s what the documentary would have you think. It brushes off valid concerns raised by women athletes like former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines. Without mincing words, Gaines highlighted the obvious unfairness of allowing biological males into women’s sports: that men who have undergone male puberty have physical advantages that cannot be ignored.
The program put forth a 2017 Sports Medicine study that asserted there’s no solid evidence of transgender athletes enjoying an advantage. But isn’t actual performance evidence enough?
One such example is Megan Cortez-Fields, a core subject of the documentary. Cortez-Fields transitioned from the men’s swim team to the women’s and proved to be a formidable competitor. Cortez-Fields is also on record worrying about the reception she might only receive in case of a win. Her concern is not unfounded. She did win, and massively too, breaking two school records while placing second in the 100-yard butterfly at a championship meet.
News channels such as Fox have recognized the striking performance of Cortez-Fields. They compared her success with that of Lia Thomas, another transgender athlete who’s been unabashedly breaking records in the women’s category. Yet CNN insists there’s no evidence of any advantage.
Surely, one may question the relevance of a 2017 Sports Medicine study, given the ground reality today. Perhaps a review or new findings are in order?
Maybe, it’s time CNN admits reality as it reports. Women athletes deserve a level playing field, one not tipped by biological advantages. They deserve recognition, not the dismissive attitude toward their protests that the documentary exhibited. No one is asking to hinder inclusivity, but fair play should not be a casualty in its name either.
In conclusion, women’s sports is under a siege of political correctness that is pushing women athletes to the sidelines in their own games. CNN’s recent documentary could have been an excellent platform to discuss this pressing issue, but sadly, their program fell short. The respect, recognition, and level playing field women athletes deserve were undermined. It’s time to prioritize fair play, honesty, and integrity over misplaced political correctness. After all, fairness is the cornerstone of sports. If we can’t uphold it there, where can we?
