NO HOLDS BARRED

We spoke with them by Zoom Monday, April 11.

Our guest was author and former elite waterskier and cyclist, Kristen Worley, to discuss and dispel the myths about transgender participation in sports.

Worley explained the complexities of the hormones that interplay in the human body, and how policies have been made, and continue to be made, across the spectrum of athletics without scientific study or evidence. In Worley's case, it led to her being the first athlete to be "gender tested" under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Stockholm Consensus of 2003. The requirements of the "consensus" led to physical harm to her and other transgender athletes who were required to restrict their intake of necessary hormones or face expulsion from the very sports they love. In 2016, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recognized that IOC policies specifically requiring her to reduce her testosterone levels in order compete in female sport, not only made her ill, but infringed on her human rights.

Subsequent to this ground-breaking court case, Worley has worked with the IOC to develop a new framework for transgender athletes, which was released in November 2021. Much more work needs to be done, however, to overcome the deep prejudices, fears, and highly politicized atmosphere surrounding transgender rights.

We are grateful to Kristen Worley for providing us with a basic education on the issues transgender athletes face.

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