If sports dont take care of the safety issue, sports will die, said Ross Tucker, an exercise physiologist from South Africa who advised World Rugby on the ban. Mothers wont put their children in these collision-type sports because of the danger.
But ruggers and activists who oppose the ban say it is a solution in search of a problem.
A number of leading rugby-playing nations oppose the ban. And athletes who are in favor have been reluctant to come forward in fear of backlash. That viewpoint, in a time of heightened political polarization, generally goes against the inclusivity espoused by international sports, including at the Olympics.
Its about policing female bodies, said Verity Smith, 39, of Britain, a transgender man who competed on womens teams for 26 years before transitioning and was a silent observer at the World Rugby deliberations. These governing bodies automatically assume that all female-bodied athletes are not as strong as male-bodied ones, when that simply isnt the case.
No scientific studies have been conducted specifically on transgender women in rugby, said Harper, the researcher.
And there are no examples of transgender women causing serious injuries to cisgender women, said Anne Lieberman, the director of policy and programs for Athlete Ally, an advocacy group for women and L.G.B.T.Q. participants in sports.read more
World Rugby Bars Transgender Women, Baffling Players
