March 25, 2020

Transgender Athletes

I will admit I debated this one for a long time before I brought this to the other guys.

When I originally had the idea for Use Your Words, this topic was one that was on my list to eventually get to but to tread with caution at the same time. The reason to tread with caution was not that I have ever waivered on my opinions in regard to this matter but because I know that culturally in the United States this is a sensitive topic - and one that is changing rapidly.

This was also a topic that I did not just want to approach flippantly as this has multiple facets - politically, socially, economically, and religiously. This is a topic that will not be going away anytime soon - as the number of transgender youth continues to increase.

I thought long and hard if I had more to say in regards to this topic besides what was said in the podcast, and after editing and thought I decided there really isn't too much more.

This discussion was never intended to say that a person who is transitioning or is transgendered is not a person - they are a human and they are valuable and important still. Josh may come across a little rough around the edges - but in the end of the day he still loves and would help a person who is transgendered. While we may not agree that transgendered individuals should be able to participate in sports if they are outside of the guidelines established by the various organizations (IOC, NCAA, etc) we still care for people no matter what.

I feel it would a bad idea to try to add more opinions to this beyond what was said in the podcast episode so I will leave it at just that. Listen to the podcast, then leave a comment here so we can discuss your thoughts on this subject. As always the links below were referenced / used in the podcast. This is a record number of links for one episode - and that is because of the fact that this is such a crucial and sensitive topic. So listen, check the links, read, and lets discuss.

-Paul