Should male athletes who identify as transgender compete in women’s sports?
If you’ve listened to many major news outlets recently, you’d hear a resounding “yes.” Athletes who identify as—then compete against—the opposite sex are often celebrated in the media.
Collegiate athlete Lia Thomas, a male swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, was applauded after winning the NCAA women’s championship in the 500-yard freestyle in March 2022. Hailey Davidson, a male golfer, was similarly commended after winning an event on a professional women’s golf tour in January 2024. And the media cheered as Laurel Hubbard, a 43-year-old male weightlifter from New Zealand, became the first athlete to compete against the opposite sex in the Olympics during the 2021 Tokyo Games.
You’ll notice that all these athletes have one thing in common: they are all males competing in women’s sports. It’s not often that you hear of a controversy involving female athletes competing in men’s sports. And the reason for that is simple and obvious: males have a physical advantage over females in most athletics.
But those who simply state this truth are often met with vile attacks online and in the media. That’s because the fact that men and women are different and have different strengths and weaknesses has become taboo in our culture today. But this difference isn’t a bad thing—and it’s necessary that we recognize it to preserve the integrity of women’s sports.
Below, we’ll unpack why male athletes have immense physical advantages over female athletes and how females are harmed when they are forced to compete against males.
Is it fair for males to compete in women’s sports? Here’s the science.
Is it fair for male athletes to compete against female athletes? No. And that answer isn’t just based on common sense—the science is conclusive.
Some activists claim that males who receive cross-sex hormones and artificially lower their testosterone levels should be allowed to compete against females. But recent studies have proven that these methods do not negate the performance gap between the sexes. Forcing females to compete against males strips them of their right to a fair playing field.
An expert report by Dr. Gregory A. Brown, an exercise science professor at the University of Nebraska, sheds some light on how policies that allow males to compete against females harm women and girls.
Dr. Brown cites research showing that allowing males to compete against females in track and field could allow “many who would not be considered top tier male performers” to replace the world’s most skilled female athletes on the podium. For example, in 2017 alone, well over 5,000 males, including some under 18 years old, ran 400-meter times that were faster than the personal bests of U.S. Olympic gold medalists Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix.
Dr. Brown’s report shows that policies allowing males to compete in women’s sports would do even greater harm to female athletes in a variety of other sports.
Similarly gifted and trained males have physical advantages over females—from greater height and weight and larger, longer, and stronger bones to larger muscles and higher rates of metabolizing and releasing energy. These innate physiological traits result in greater muscle strength; stronger throwing, hitting, and kicking; higher jumping; and faster running speeds for males, all of which create an athletic edge over females.
For example, despite greater body weight, males have a roughly 15-20 percent jumping advantage over women. When examining the vertical jump needed in volleyball, one study found that on average male players jumped 50 percent higher during an “attack” at the net than female players.
Even if male athletes are receiving testosterone-suppressing drugs,, it will not reverse the distinct advantage they have over females.
In another report, Dr. Brown elaborates: “[I]t is obvious that some effects of male puberty that confer advantages for athletic performance—in particular bone size and configuration—cannot be reversed once they have occurred.” He goes on to demonstrate how puberty creates height and mass differences that provide a significant athletic advantage for males. And no amount of testosterone blockers can compensate for that advantage.
Dr. Brown also cites five separate studies to further prove this point. One study was even conducted by researchers who were sympathetic to gender ideology. But despite the researchers’ personal opinions, the scientific facts required them to recognize that the irreversible physical differences between males and females “provide a strong argument that [males] have an intolerable advantage over [females].”
For the past several decades, female athletes have seen their opportunities grow steadily. The average number of collegiate women’s sports teams has more than tripled since Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
And in that same time span, women have also been given the opportunity to compete in more events at the Olympics. In fact, many of America’s most famous Olympic athletes are women, such as Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky.
But Dr. Brown’s research shows that if female athletes were forced to compete against males, even these Olympians would not have a fair chance to compete. And many young girls would never get the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, no matter how hard they worked.
Title IX and the history of women’s sports
In today’s world, it’s difficult to imagine that there was a time when women and girls didn’t have many opportunities to play sports.
But before the 1970s, the concept of women’s sports was not widespread at all. In fact, sporting events for girls were almost nonexistent. During the 1971-1972 school year, only 7 percent of high school athletes were girls. In the 2018-2019 school year, by comparison, girls made up over 42 percent of all high school athletes.
So, what changed after 1972?
Congress passed Title IX—a piece of legislation intended to give women and girls equal opportunities in education. Since its passage into law, women have been given exponentially more opportunities to play organized sports.
Title IX changed the game and opened many new opportunities for women and girls.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration adopted rule changes in April 2024 redefining “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” The changes would allow males who identify as female to enter women’s locker rooms and compete in women’s sports, threatening safety and fairness for female athletes.
The Biden administration does not have the legal authority to rewrite federal laws, and Alliance Defending Freedom is currently involved in five lawsuits across the country challenging the administration’s illegal redefinition of “sex” in Title IX.
Males have taken titles from female athletes
Scientific studies are a great resource in showing that males have a biological advantage over females in athletics, but we don’t need a study to tell us just how discouraging it is for female athletes to compete and lose to males.
Hecox v. Little
Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall competed on the women’s cross-country and track teams at Idaho State University, and they dedicated much of their time and effort to being the best and fastest they could be. But in 2019, their cross-country coach gave them the news that they would be forced to compete against a male athlete in the upcoming season.
During the three previous years, this athlete competed on the men’s teams and posted times that were faster than the women’s national records. So, unsurprisingly, both Madison and Mary Kate lost to the male athlete at their tournaments.
In 2020, Idaho passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to ensure that only females could compete in sports designated for girls and women. The legislation protected athletes like Madison and Mary Kate from being forced to compete against males.
But shortly after the law was passed, the ACLU filed a lawsuit seeking to strike it down. Since Madison and Mary Kate have experienced what it is like to have to have their opportunities to win taken by a male athlete, they intervened in the lawsuit to protect Idaho’s law.
After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued an unfavorable ruling, ADF attorneys representing Madison and Mary Kate asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education
Similarly, in 2021, West Virginia passed a law to protect athletes like Lainey Armistead. Lainey has been fiercely dedicated to soccer since childhood and has competed at the collegiate level. “I have made many sacrifices over the course of my athletic career to play the sport that I love,” she says. Lainey played on the women’s soccer team at West Virginia State University, serving as team captain.
But soon after West Virginia passed this commonsense law to ensure a level playing field for athletes like Lainey, the ACLU sued yet again. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Lainey.
In January 2023, a federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of Lainey and dissolved the preliminary injunction that was initially put in place, allowing the West Virginia’s law to go fully into effect.
But the ACLU appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which granted a temporary injunction to allow a young male athlete in West Virginia to compete against girls while the case is on appeal. Later, the 4th Circuit issued a final ruling that reversed part of the lower court’s decision and stripped West Virginia of its ability to protect fairness in women’s sports.
The state of West Virginia, alongside ADF, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. We are asking the Court to reverse the appellate-level decisions in West Virginia and Idaho and make it clear that these states are free to allow only female athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Madison, Mary Kate, and Lainey are far from the only female athletes who have been forced to compete against males. Thankfully, many states are taking a stand for fairness in women’s sports. In addition to West Virginia and Idaho, states including Mississippi, Montana, Arkansas, and Florida have passed legislation that keep males from competing against women. In total, 24 states have these laws on the books.
Athletic events that allow males to compete against women
Men and women are not interchangeable. It’s a fact of both science and common sense that they differ in many ways. And when males who identify as female are permitted to compete in women’s sports, it is women and girls who suffer.
Female athletes in contact sports face safety risks when they are forced to compete against males. And women and girls across the board will see their athletic and academic opportunities limited. They will be stepping up to compete knowing that they do not have a fair chance to win. And for many women, athletics are their best bet for a college scholarship.
ADF has compiled a list of at least 29 different sports leagues and conferences that have allowed males to compete in women’s sports. And this list is not even exhaustive.
The end of women’s sports?
While some female athletes have taken a brave stand for fairness in women’s sports, many others have been hesitant to speak out. And it’s no wonder why.
Those who dare to question whether males should be allowed to compete against females are ridiculed and bullied. Activists lashed out against tennis legend Martina Navratilova when she wrote that it’s “cheating” for a man to compete as a woman.
Likewise, when Madison, Mary Kate, and other female competitors have voiced their criticism, they have been portrayed as sore losers.
Since when does speaking the truth make you a sore loser?
It is a physiological fact that men and women are built differently. Men have more muscle mass and a higher bone density, making them physically stronger than women.
And as Navratilova pointed out, “Simply reducing hormone levels — the prescription most sports have adopted — does not solve the problem. A man builds up muscle and bone density, as well as a greater number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, from childhood. Training increases the discrepancy.”
No amount of training can change the fact that males have a physiological advantage over females in most sports.
That’s why we have separate men’s and women’s sports. But somehow, the line between the two is becoming increasingly blurry. And women and girls are suffering the consequences.
