Former US soccer star Megan Rapinoe has launched a scathing attack on the International Olympic Committee, accusing it of capitulating to the Trump administration with what she calls a 'hateful' and 'horrible' ban on transgender athletes in women's sports. In a landmark ruling earlier this year, Olympic officials prohibited transgender athletes from all female competitions, introducing mandatory sex testing under new regulations.
IOC Defends Decision as Protecting Fairness
The IOC asserts that a once-in-a-lifetime SRY gene test is essential to 'protect fairness, safety and integrity in the female category'. This controversial move followed high-profile disputes involving boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting during the Paris 2024 Olympics, after allegations surfaced that they had failed gender eligibility assessments with the International Boxing Association.
Rapinoe's Furious Reaction on Podcast
Rapinoe, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump known for speaking out on contentious issues, expressed her outrage on the A Touch More podcast alongside her partner, basketball legend Sue Bird. She stated she is 'sickened' by the 'horrible' policy change, insisting it lacks scientific foundation.
'This is a total acquiescence to the Trump administration and to really right-wing conservative politics,' Rapinoe declared. She argued the rule 'is just bringing down so much hate against such a small percentage of people who are just trying to live their life. It’s just horrible and I'm just sickened by it, really.'
Questioning the Science and Impact
Rapinoe continued, 'This committee is framing it as based in science, which it’s not... this will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage.' She emphasised the minimal number of transgender athletes, calling the ban 'so blatant on its face.'
The former USWNT icon claimed the IOC's policy 'has nothing to do with protecting women' and noted that neither she nor Bird support the ruling. 'I feel like two people, who played at the very highest level for every competition that you possibly could, don’t agree with this and never felt like this was an issue at all,' she said, referencing 'The Protection of the Female Category.'
Criticism of Invasive Testing
Rapinoe highlighted biological complexities, stating, 'We already know that biology, as much as we want it to be just nice and clean and tight and perfectly in one category and another, it’s not.' She condemned the mandatory testing, saying it subjects all women and those identifying as women to 'really invasive testing that only to me says like, "Oh we’re just trying to whittle it down to a certain type of woman."'
She suggested the ban stems from political motives, remarking, 'They sort of lost the battle on gay marriage and lost the battle on all these things so it’s just like: "We’re gonna have this whole campaign for all these years to just hate trans people," which is such a small percentage of the population.' Rapinoe pointed out that in sports, transgender athletes are exceedingly rare, noting 'It’s actually on a single hand when we’re talking about sports.'
