The hemming and hawing over how transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in sporting events have become a lightning rod in recent years. We’ve seen this become a flashpoint in the world of swimming, where even then-President Donald Trump got involved, not to mention failed Senate candidate Herschel Walker making it part of his campaign.
Now, a major boxing organization has announced that they’re making a new category for transgender athletes to compete in as part of a new plan that attempts to appease everyone, but probably won’t.
World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman announced their plans for a category specific to transgender fighters in 2023 to The Telegraph on Thursday.
“We are going to put out a global call for those who are interested in 2023 and we will set up the protocols, start consultation and most likely create a league and a tournament,” Sulaiman said.
“It is the time to do this, and we are doing this because of safety and inclusion. We have been the leaders in rules for women’s boxing – so the dangers of a man fighting a woman will never happen because of what we are going to put in place.
“In boxing, a man fighting a woman must never be accepted regardless of gender change. There should be no grey area around this, and we want to go into it with transparency and the correct decisions. Woman to man or man to woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth.”
Announcing your decision by telling transgender men and women what they can “never be allowed” to do is certainly one way to try to gain favor.
It’s unclear how many transgender athletes will want to take part in a league that separates them into a different category than their chosen gender. While many other places and leagues are moving in the opposite direction, it’ll be interesting to see how much traction ideas like this get.
