Team USA track star pens blistering essay about biological men competing in women's sports: Something needs to be done before 'women's sports is erased'



Team USA World Masters track athlete Cynthia Monteleone issued a scathing rebuke against including biological men — specifically transgender women — in women's sports.

What are the details?

In a lengthy essay for Fox News, Monteleone, who has competed in various world championships and is also a track coach, said that if biological males continue to compete on women's sports teams, it will mean the end of women's sports as we know it.

"I’m standing for the protection of women’s sports," she wrote. "At the 2018 World Masters Athletics Championships in Málaga, Spain, I competed in the 200-meter race against a male-bodied athlete, whom I beat by only a few tenths of a second. The next year, the same athlete beat my teammate in the hurdles for a place on the podium at the 2019 World Championship indoor meet in Poland. My teammate had trained harder than anyone I know."

Monteleone said that the trend continues: Her daughter, a high school-age track star in her own right, was defeated by a biological male identifying as a female in her first ever high school track race.

"I had watched proudly as my strong and determined girl did all the right things – made personal, difficult sacrifices to train her body to be as fast and fit as possible for her first race," she wrote. "Yet all her hard work seemed to drift away along with the male-bodied athlete, who had just transferred from the boys’ volleyball team to the girl’s team the season before. The athlete breezed right by her to win first place, leaving her to finish second."

Monteleone added, "How can you win as a female when you’re lined up next to a male body whose strength, heart and lung capacity, and pace are all greater than your own no matter what the 'treatment'?"

She pointed out that the impact of biological men competing against women in women's sports takes more than just a physical toll on female competitors — and often has a detrimental impact on girls' and women's mental health. Further, women biologically have next to no chance of holding any kind of physical advantage over males when it comes to competition sports.

Monteleone added that even when biological males suppress their hormones, they are still 12% faster than their biologically female counterparts — and that's after two years.

"The most important factor is the psychological toll. Many of the girls I coach suffer from anxiety over having to compete against male-bodied athletes. We all know the powerful scientific neurotransmitter connection between our minds and our bodies: When you think you can win, you have a better chance of doing it. It’s proven," she continued. "Yet those of us who dare speak out that competing against males is unfair are told, 'Oh, it’s not that big of a deal. It doesn’t happen that often. Just keep your mouth shut and be quiet.' That’s what I was told when I raised questions as to the unfairness of running next to a male-bodied athlete at the World Masters."

Monteleone said that she's tired of remaining quiet on the local and international stage, and is fearlessly standing up in support of protecting women's sports.

"[K]now this: There is a groundswell," she warned. "From my very own daughter raising her voice along with the young track stars Chelsea Mitchell, Selina Soule, and Alanna Smith in Connecticut, to Lainey Armistead, who plays soccer in West Virginia, to the female swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania who are stressed by the presence of a male in their locker room (not to mention the women who compete, and often lose, against this male-bodied swimmer)."

Monteleone said that the "chorus of voices" protesting against biological male inclusion will soon drown out any other narrative other than the one standing to preserve the sanctity of women's sports.

"Female athletes deserve their chance to receive accolades, awards, and scholarships," she insisted. "We must raise our voices on behalf of fairness and equal opportunity for all women, before the entire category of women’s sports is erased."

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'Shame on us if we allow this to happen'

Mother-daughter athlete duo appear on Fox News to rail against inclusion of transgender women in women's sports: This could mean 'the end of women's sports'



Athlete Cynthia Monteleone and her fellow athlete daughter, Reese, appeared on Friday's "Tucker Carlson Tonight" where the two blasted the idea of including transgender women — or biologically born males — in women's sports.

What are the details?

In fiery remarks, the Monteleones said that trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard — who will compete on New Zealand's female lifting team in July's Tokyo Games — should not be permitted to participate in the sport because of what they say are obvious advantages.

Hubbard, 43, is the very first transgender woman to qualify for the Olympics and will compete in the super heavyweight 87-kg category.

Cynthia, who formerly represented the United States at an international track and field competition in Spain, said that including Hubbard in the 2021 Olympics is just "another step in erasing women from competition," The Post Millennial reported Friday night.

Her daughter, Reese — a high school sophomore track athlete in her own right — said that she "lost out to a biological male competing in women's sports" during her own experience at a high school event.

"We're here to speak up and to say it's happening," Cynthia said. "It happened to me, and it's happening to my daughter. And this is a very dangerous issue. Not only can it be physically dangerous for girls in some sports, but it's dangerous to the whole concept of women's sports. Basically, this means the end of women's sports if this keeps happening."

Carlson interjected, "If not the end of women. I think we're challenging the category itself. What is a woman? Well, it's whatever you say it is, I guess."

Cynthia, who is also a track coach, added that transgender women have distinctive advantages over biologically born females and insisted that fairness in women's sports is invaluable.

"We know from science that even after — let me be clear — even after hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery, male-bodied athletes will still have an advantage over female athletes," Cynthia said. "Frankly, we don't need science to tell us that — it's common sense, and instinct."

She added, "I feel badly for the girls I coach when they're psychologically distraught having to line up against a biological male in their race. I have compassion for all athletes, including these females who are being displaced."

What else?

Reese told the Fox News host that she's received support for speaking out against the inclusion of transgender women in traditionally female sports.

"I've received mostly support from my fellow athletes and teammates, especially on my track team," she said, "because girls like me have had to race against these athletes. Other mainstream media might try to shut us up or tell us not to share our message, but I believe that I'm standing up for what I believe in and I'm fighting for a fair playing field in women's sports."

You can watch the segment in the video below.

Mother and daughter athletes speak out against biological males competing in women’s sports: “This means the end of… https://t.co/qksV2mOi2Q

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) 1624668461.0

What else?

A spokesperson for Save Women's Sport Australasia recently said that the International Olympic Committee should never have included Hubbard as a competitor in the forthcoming games.

"It is flawed policy from the IOC that has allowed the selection of a 43-year-old biological male who identifies as a woman to compete in the female category," the group said in an early June statement.

The group wasn't the only one to speak out against Hubbard's inclusion.

In May, Belgium weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen said that the decision to include Hubbard is "like a bad joke."

"First off, I would like to stress that I fully support the transgender community, and that what I'm about to say doesn't come from a place of rejection of this athlete's identity," she said at the time. She added that "anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: this particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes."

Earlier this week, NFL icon Brett Favre added that allowing Hubbard to compete on the women's team was nothing short of unfair.

"It's a man competing as a woman," he insisted during a recent "Bolling with Favre" podcast. "That's unfair! It's not fair for a man, even if this person wants to be a woman or feels compelled — if you want to become the opposite sex, that's fine. I got no problem with it. But you can't compete against — males cannot compete against females."

The Hall of Fame quarterback added, "If I was a true female — I can't believe I'm saying that — and I was competing in weightlifting and lost to this person, I would be beside myself."