Boxing isn’t one of my favorite sports. Never really cared for competition where the ultimate measure of success is knocking another human unconscious, possibly inflicting permanent injury.
But, it is a sport and Ukrainian Artem Dalakian is one of the world’s best.
You probably never heard of Artem. He stands just over 5-4, weighs around 115 pounds and according to the World Boxing Association (WBA) has been the Flyweight champion of the world since 2018. He has never lost in 21 fights.
Another of the world’s best is Vitali Klitschko. He stands about 6-5, weighs just under 250 pounds and according to the World Boxing Council (WBC) was the Heavyweight champion of the world as recently as 2013. He and his younger brother, Wladimir, dominated world heavyweight boxing for most of a decade.
Almost certainly you’ve heard of Vitali. He has been mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine since June, 2014 and today is an international hero in the forefront of the fight to defeat the criminal invasion of his country by Russia and the siege of his city.
Artem Dalakian and Vitali Klitschko. Two of the world’s best at their sport. But, they’ve never competed against each other.
Why would that not happen?
That’s a no-brainer. One is more than a foot taller than the other. He weighs more than twice the other. If they went head-to-head, does anybody wonder which boxer would win? Would anybody concerned with athletic fairness allow that to happen?
Of course not. Sports are supposed to exemplify fairness and common sense.
That brings us to Will Thomas and Lia Thomas.
A lot of you will be familiar with one, maybe not both. But, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all … better said, you’ve seen them both. They’re the same person, competing on the University of Pennsylvania swimming team, just transferred to a different dressing room.
Gives a whole new meaning to the term “transfer portal.”
In case you don’t know, William Thomas, an Austin, Tex., native was an accomplished high school swimmer. He excelled at Westlake High School and was awarded a swimming scholarship to Penn where his brother, Wes, had swam the breaststroke and long-distance events a few years earlier.
Will did OK on the men’s team. As a sophomore, he was second-team All-Ivy in the 500 free, 1,000 free and 1,650 free after finishing second in each event in the Ivy League championships. As a junior, he competed in four of the team’s eight regular season match-ups and won the 500 free against Villanova. He moved up in rank to be No. 462 among men’s collegiate swimmers.
Nothing had been headline grabbing about William Thomas. He was a good swimmer, nowhere near being a champion, but a good swimmer. But around that time, something changed, something significant.
William Thomas identified himself as a girl. He was going to be Lia Thomas and was still going to swim for the Penn Quakers … but now as a woman.
During the COVID year when the Ivy League suspended sports, William followed the NCAA guidelines for transwomen, including 12 months of testosterone suppression, and was allowed to join the Quaker women’s team for the 2021-22 season.
The 22-year old, fifth year senior, taller and stouter than most teammates and competitors, with three years of experience competing against and practicing with male swimmers, was now one of the Quaker girls.
The impact was immediate. In January, Thomas won the 100-meter and 200-meter events in a dual meet with Harvard. In the Zippy Invitational, the victory margin in the 1,650 free (the longest event in swimming) was a staggering 38 seconds. Throughout the season, Thomas was dominant, winning events, setting five new program records. Heading into the recent NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, Thomas was among the national leaders in several events.
Then came the headline grabbing.
Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle national title at the NCAA championships in Atlanta, finishing more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Emma Weyant (the silver medal winner in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics) and third place Erica Sullivan (the silver medalist in the 1,500 freestyle event in Tokyo).
Contemplate that for a minute.
The No. 462 men’s collegiate swimmer had defeated two female Olympic silver medal winners.
The impact from that was also immediate. As the poolside crowd realized what had happened, there were virtually no cheers. Astonishment and disbelief might be a more accurate description. Anger and disgust might fit in there, too.
Thomas swam in other events, including finishing fifth in 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle, earning points for Penn in every event.
Criticism came from many directions and was aimed at different culprits, including toward the NCAA, college sports governing body. It came from parents of female swimmers who barely missed qualifying for championship competition, and from swimmers themselves. From athletes in other sports, to other transgender athletes, from commentators to spokespersons to posters on social media.
Almost unanimously, they said it was wrong, terribly wrong … and I agree.
That opinion has nothing at all to do with politics, prejudice or wokeness. Absolutely nothing! It isn’t anti-transgender or anti-anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, tall or short, right-handed or left handed, curly-haired or bald. This one is clear cut.
It is about one thing only – fairness and common sense in sports. To anybody that’s a sports fan, anybody who is a participant, anybody whose children play sports, anybody who has established a career related to sports, this should be critical.
Sports are supposed to show fairness and common sense. And, no objective, reasonable person can think this does.
But, don’t just take it from me. Here’s what some had to say …
Caitlyn Jenner – (You may know Jenner better as Bruce, gold medal winner in the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Olympics. Jenner “transitioned” to female in 2015 and was a candidate for governor of California in 2021.)
“The problem is the NCAA and the rules. They need to take a serious look about what’s happening in women’s sports. They have to make it fair.
“I have been from the beginning out to protect women’s sports. I haven’t been out to protect transgender athletes. … We need to stand up for women’s sports. We’ve got to keep it fair.”
“We need to protect women’s sports. I feel sorry for the other athletes that are out there, especially at Penn or anybody competing against … It’s not good for women’s sports. It’s unfortunate that this is happening.”
Amy Legacki Manson – Internationally known distance runner.
“The cut and dry issue is this: Fair sport does not allow someone in Group A to compete in Group B, when Group B’s category was specifically created on the basis of extreme physiological advantage of Group A. Fair sport does not allow any athlete to cross over to a disadvantaged category. Different sport categories were created to allow fair access to success and opportunity.
“This is not hate. This is fair sport. Crossing category lines in sport is cheating.”
“Please stop using the anti-LGBT basket to try and get good people to jump on the bandwagon for something so hurtful and wrong.”
THE EDITORS – The senior editorial staff of National Review magazine and web site.
“Instead of allowing, indeed actively encouraging this fiasco, adults should have taken a hand from the beginning and politely but firmly said ‘no’ to a biological male competing in a women’s sport.
“Whether or not the embarrassment continues at the Olympics level, this scandal has far graver consequences than even the injustices endured by individual female athletes. It is not only the female achievements that are under attack, but the very definition of a female.”
Reka Gyorgy – Two-time ACC champion, former Olympian, finished 17th in 500-meter qualifying; only top 16 allowed to swim in the NCAA finals.
“Every event that transgender athletes participated in was one spot taken away from biological females. … This was my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like the final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision. … I can’t help but be angry or sad. It hurts me and other women in the pool.”
University of Arizona swimmers – Below is an excerpt from their letter to the NCAA Board of Governors.
“It’s hard to express the anguish the women’s swim community has experienced this past week watching the NCAA Swim & Dive Championships. We feel we are witnessing irrevocable damage to a sport that has transformed our own identities for the better … We are grateful for the many women who have stood up to publicly speak up in protest of your policies …”
“USA Swimming, the leading organization of swimming in the world, has surrendered its firm stance on fair play. This has encouraged other organizations, such as the NCAA, to make accommodations for biological men who have had the benefits of testosterone throughout natural development and beyond.”
Then, there were unidentified social media posters who were direct to the point. Here are a few examples:
** “Doesn’t everybody see how absolutely insane this is? Shouldn’t all the real female swimmers refuse to compete in these unfair matches?”
** What an abomination to women’s sports. Shameful.”
** It’s a freaking dude! Why do we put up with this?”
** It’s inevitably the women who are losing their opportunities that need to stand up.”
Unfortunately, the precedent has been set.
What happens if a 6-foot-8 male back-up power forward identifies as a female and becomes the most dominating center in women’s college basketball?
How about this … What if a LeBron James decides to become a “LeBronda” James and dominate the WNBA? Of course, that’s ridiculous. But, the subject of this column would have seemed ridiculous not that long ago.
So what should be done going forward to protect college sports, women’s athletics, fairness in competition?
Rules need to be consistent. Recently, USA Swimming announced new guidelines for a more stringent threshold for testosterone testing. But, the NCAA decided that those couldn’t be applied for the NCAA championships.
Common sense needs to prevail. There may be some sports in which the gender category wouldn’t make as much difference. How about bowling, curling, horseshoes or washers? Are chess and bridge still considered sports? But, where physiological advantages are so significant, use common sense.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova may have expressed the best idea, starting with putting an “asterisk” by the transgender winner’s name.
“It’s not about excluding transgender women from winning ever,” she said on the day that Thomas won the 500 free championship. “But, it is about not allowing them to win when they were not anywhere near winning as men.”
Navratilova suggested that the NCAA adopt a category for only biological females to compete against other, then have an “open category” for everyone else.
At this point, that sounds as reasonable as any other proposal, maybe more so.
Something needs to be done to insure fairness and common sense.
After all, that’s what sports are supposed to be about.
