EDITORIAL: Fair play for female athletes isn’t ‘anti-trans’

Concept that female athletes should not have to compete against biological men far from controversial

Published Aug 06, 2026  •  2 minute read

Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever arrives at Michelob ULTRA Arena for a game against the Las Vegas Aces. Getty Images

In a rational society, the concept that female athletes of any age should not have to compete against biological men who are genetically stronger than they are would not be controversial.

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That isn’t being “anti-trans.”

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It’s a fairness and safety issue — ensuring female athletes are competing on a level playing field and that reasonable measures are in place to avoid, as much as possible, serious injury when competing.

Given that, it is a bizarre symbol of our confused times that female athletes making this point are being attacked for discriminating against transgender people.

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‘Lot of negative feedback’ over issue

The controversy re-ignited last month when WNBA star Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever— a fan favourite, who is no slouch when it comes to protecting teammate and generational talent Caitlin Clark from cheap shots by opponents — said young girls shouldn’t have to compete against biological men.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham said of the predictably negative reaction both within and outside of the eternally woke WNBA.

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“I never once said that. I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. I want to protect young girls in a locker-room or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.

“I think it’s common sense. I think I’ll always believe in that, it’s really important to protect children. And that’s little girls, who are also involved in that category.”

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Tennis stars speaking out too

On Monday, the world’s current top-ranked female tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, said she supported genetic testing in her sport to ensure a level playing field for female competitors.

“It is really important to keep fairness in our tour,” Sabalenka said. “It is obvious that, biologically, the men are way stronger than women, so I feel like it would be not really fair for a woman to compete against a biological man.”

Coco Gauff, the world’s No. 4-ranked female tennis player, responded, “I definitely support the trans community, but I also support the need of creating fairness in sport, too.”

This issue will be front and centre in Toronto when the Indiana Fever play the Toronto Tempo at Scotiabank Arena on Aug. 18, even though common sense shouldn’t be controversial.

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