The debate over the participation of trans women in the female branch of sport continues to accumulate chapters in the world.
This week, the Czech tennis player Martina Navratilova, remembered for her dominance in the women’s circuit in the eighties, caused controversy by stating on her social networks that “Women’s tennis is not for failed male athletes of any age” after transgender player Alicia Rowley won the 55+ National Lawn Tennis Championships in the United States.
And at the same time, but in Colombia, also on a sports scale that is not considered professional, Deysi Olarte, a trans woman, amateur basketball player and consultant on issues of equity, gender and diversity, experienced the beginning of what she classifies as “an act of discrimination” because of their identity.
According to the complaint, she was “marginalized” from a basketball tournament for being a transgender woman.
(The brave transgender player who breaks barriers in Colombian sports).
‘If they don’t let me play, they are violating my rights’
Deysi Olarte, 42, plans to play the 40-50 Maxi Basketball Summer Tournament to be held from August 19 to 21, in San Sebastián de Mariquita, in the department of Tolima, with the Fair Play women’s team. However, there is a note in article 7 of the competition regulation that would frustrate their intentions.
“When talking about players (as), reference is made to each male (born male) and female (born female) branch. Man talking about a person of the biological male sex calling himself a man with XY chromosome. Woman speaking of a person of the biological female sex with XX chromosomes as opposed to the male sex with XY chromosome”, reads verbatim in the paragraph of the regulation that refers to the players and the list of participants.
“I understand that this article was born due to the pressure of some people from some teams in Bogotá who do not want me to play the tournament”denounces Olarte, who in his youth was a member of the men’s minor divisions of Piratas de Bogotá, in a chat with EL TIEMPO.
According to what he says, in the midst of this situation, he decided to contact Fredy Mogollón, who leads the Los Panches Cultural and Sports Corporation, in charge of organizing the tournament.
“I told him that it was a crime to exclude me like this because it was an act of discrimination and that is typified by law, that if they don’t let me play they are violating my rights”, says Olarte.
In this regard, also in a conversation with this newspaper, Mogollón states that “the regulations were prepared based on experience in past tournaments.”
On the pressure of the other women’s teams so that Olarte does not play the tournament, the leader of the Corporation responds: “It is evident that in this kind of tournaments there are people who are opposed to playing with athletes who are tougher due to their physical condition.”.
“If it is because of my way of playing, that I represent a danger to any player on the court, then that is false because I, by far, average two or three personal fouls per game. I am not malicious, nor do I go too far in my game intentions”, questions Olarte. Is it fair that transgender athletes compete in the female category?
‘Deysi Olarte will not be able to play’
Deysi Olarte maintains that she has repeatedly communicated with Mogollón so that her participation in the tournament is possible. However, he says, the response has not been as expected.
“I understand that the situation is not easy, but I wanted to look for him to guide him and share the legal arguments so that I can play in the tournament. My intention is to play and that’s it, if you can win well, and if not, then no. The idea is to have a great time like anyone else”, narrates the player.
In this regard, the organizer argues that “the experience has been lived in the past with participants of this ideology (sic) and therefore I do not want a tournament as important as it is in San Sebastián de Mariquita to have to be canceled or, better, decrease, for individual rights rather than collective ones”.
Given the little time left for the start of the tournament, Deysi Olarte says that she will file a protection action protected by the Anti-Discrimination Law (Law 1752 of 2015).
“It’s a crime. He (Mogollón) is committing discrimination,” says Olarte.
Mogollón, for his part, remains in his position. “In this tournament the person (Deysi Olarte) will not be able to play for the aforementioned arguments.”
“All human beings have rights and duties. I also have rights”, replies the organizer.
A subject without global consensus
The participation of trans women in the female branch of sports remains a controversial issue.
Less than a month ago the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced that it will ban transgender female runners who have undergone gender change after puberty from participating in international competitions for women.
Previously, the UCI followed the recommendation given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have testosterone levels as the king criterion. However, the IOC renounced in 2021 to establish uniform directives. Since then, the debate has intensified.
In April, The International Athletics Federation (IAAF) has banned the participation of trans women in women’s competitions. “Gender cannot trump biology. The integrity and future of women’s sport, if we don’t do it well, is very fragile,” IAAF president, former athlete Sebastian Coe, said at the time.
Miguel Alexánder Niño, a sports doctor who has worked in different disciplines in the country, including the Colombian soccer team, explains that, from a physiological point of view, transgender athletes would have an advantage over those who were born women.
“It is obviously a hormonal, chemical and physiological issue. They are human beings in which their gonads are male and their genetic load is also male. His levels of hormones, which we call anabolic, which help develop muscle mass, build tissue, and develop strength and power, correspond to a male hormonal load. Fundamentally, the two main hormones are testosterone and androsterone, and all their metabolites, which are the ones that have a physiological effect,” he noted.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, for the first time a transgender woman competed in the women’s side of the jousting. It was the New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who was left out of the podium, but set a precedent. It remains to be seen what happens between now and the Paris Games next year.
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Nathaniel Pinzón, a psychology student, and Danne Belmont, director of the GAAT foundation, recounted in ‘Inclusive: Conversations without a filter’ different situations they have had to face because they are trans people.
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