An Aussie advocate has called for authorities to stop “pandering to the woke” and ban transgender athletes from professional women’s sport.
Following the debut of MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin, an Australian advocate has called for transgender athletes to be banned from competing in professional women’s sports.
McLaughlin, the second openly transgender woman to compete in MMA in the United States, won her debut on Friday night via submission at the Combate Global prelims.
The 38-year-old used a rear-naked choke against Celine Provost to end the match three minutes, 32 seconds into the second round.
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Provost landed multiple punches in the first round, but McLaughlin ultimately came out on top.
As she was declared the victor, McLaughlin wore a shirt with the phrase, “End Trans Genocide.”
Her debut comes as multiple states argue bills aimed at restricting transgender athletes from participating in youth, high school and college sports.
Speaking on 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live, Save Women’s Sport Australasia co-founder Katherine Deves said including transgender athletes in professional sport was “an attack on women and girls”.
“Humans cannot change sex,” she claimed.
“Sex matters for sport. Sport does not care about your feelings or your identity.
“This is male violence against women. It is sanctioned, and celebrated, and monetised.
“It’s an attack on everything that women have fought for, for equality of access to sports competitions.
“How far do we have to fall as a society before the authorities stop pandering to the woke and start protecting women and girls?
“We don’t want to have mediocre males playing against the most elite women in the world.
“Women’s sports is not a dumping ground for men who can’t hack it in male competition.”
According to Sport Australia, there is no evidence of athletes transitioning from a man into a women in order to gain a competitive advantage.
McLaughlin, who began her gender transition after leaving the U.S. Army Special Forces in 2010, said she hopes to be a pioneer for transgender athletes in combat sports.
“I want to pick up the mantle that Fallon put down,” McLaughlin told Outsports before the fight, referring to Fallon Fox, who in 2012 became the first transgender woman to fight in MMA.
“Right now, I’m following in Fallon’s footsteps. I’m just another step along the way and it’s my great hope that there are more to follow behind me.”
McLaughlin began training a year ago and was cleared to fight by the Florida State Boxing Commission after having her hormone levels tested, according to ESPN.
She said it was a “nightmare” finding an opponent.
“I‘m getting a lot of variations of the same nasty messages calling me a cheater,” McLaughlin wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
“She almost finished me more than once, and on scorecards she definitely won that first round.
“This is the only post I‘ll make about this. Transphobes are just making my block hand stronger.”
– with The New York Post
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