OPINION —
A few months ago, I saw on the news where a biological male MMA fighter began identifying as a woman and started fighting competitively against biological females. In back-to-back fights, the biological male fighter beat his female opponents to a pulp, causing severe injury to one, least of which was a broken jaw.
In 2017, biologically male swimmer Lia Thomas began swimming competitively for the University of Pennsylvania until 2020 where his results were mediocre at best. In 2021, he began identifying as a female and joined the women’s swim team at the same university, where Thomas began dominating all the swimming events.
These are just two examples of a phenomenon that seemS to be infiltrating society, thus challenging long-held norms and beliefs regarding equity and fair play.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a father of three boys and have never been blessed with a daughter. However, if I had a daughter, I would be incensed and would be ready to jump in the ring with that MMA fighter to protect her from the physical beating and injustice that would be inflicted upon her.
My question is simply this: “Have we lost our minds?” I see the stories on Twitter, the headlines in newspapers, and hear the discussions on numerous podcasts. I wonder how we got here, and what we need to do to fix this. Are we here because our society has become too woke? Have we just decided to accept every new idea, fad or notion just to avoid being labeled a racist, homophobe, misogynist, transphobe and so on? If so, have we considered the damage it is doing to our institutions, our sense of fair play and to our little girls?
There are very rational physiological reasons why biological males do not compete in women’s softball, women’s basketball, women’s power lifting. There are physiological reasons why females do not compete against male boxers, male collegiate wrestlers, participate in male home run derbies and so on. It should all come down to fairness. Nobody is trying to prevent a trans male from competing in sports. They simply need to do so against their biological equivalents. Another solution might be to create a third category and let them compete against each other. Why would that not be fair?
Recently, the Alabama Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law forbidding biological males from competing against biological females in sports at the high school and collegiate level. Alabama is following numerous states across the country that have done the same. Bravo. But there are still numerous states who have not passed any legislation protecting our girls. Instead, many have done the opposite, passing legislation contrary to Title IX, allowing biological males in our daughters’ locker rooms and to compete on the same floor or venue as our girls.
It is my humble opinion that this will not stop until women take a stand. It will stop when women refuse to compete against a biological male. Let Lia Thomas swim alone in the pool. Refuse to fight in an MMA match against a biological male. Boycott the track and field event where the sexes are mixed. Once the high school athletic associations, the NCAA, the MMA and other sanctioning bodies realize that they will cease to exist if this continues, they will act andrectify this issue. It is a sacrifice women must make. It is a fight worth fighting. It is the least I can do for the daughter that I never had.
Larry DiChiara holds a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree from Auburn University. He spent time as the head basketball coach and principal at Loachapoka High School, was superintendent of Phenix City Schools from 2004 to 2013 and was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. He is currently the president of SOY Education Associates Inc.