Trans athletes

Enes Freedom Says He’d Put Up Ridiculous Numbers In The WNBA During Anti-Trans Rant

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NBA journeyman Enes Freedom has become something of a Fox News regular in recent weeks. Born Enes Kanter, Freedom changed his surname to protest the government of his birth nation of Turkey. However, Freedom doesn’t believe that certain other people should be afforded that same right. He was on Fox News this week to fearmonger about trans athletes.

“I’m 7-foot, 270 pounds,” he said. “And, if I decided to identify myself as a woman and decided to play in the WNBA. Would that be fair to all the women who have been chasing their dreams since they were a little kid? “If I am allowed in, I will average 60 points and 30 rebounds. I will break records. Men do not belong in women’s spaces,” he said. “Restrooms, locker rooms or sports. Everybody knows we are bigger, stronger, taller, more muscular,” he added. “It’s just not fair. It’s just not fair, period.” Kanter later posted trolling images with a similar message on social media.

Read More: Nine-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner vocally advocates for the inclusion of trans athletes

What Enes Freedom (And Right Wing Media) Gets Wrong About Trans Athletes

Firstly, it’s very telling that Freedom, a career 11.2/7.8 player, believes that his stats would nearly sextuple in ppg and more than triple in rpg if he joined the WNBA. It’s a very common idea that the WNBA’s quality is so bad that even mediocre players, like Freedom, would be unto gods in the league. Of course, it’s wrong. The WNBA is the best women’s league in the world. Furthermore, comparing the WNBA and NBA is folly because who would do that in a serious context? Additionally, it’s interesting that Freedom chooses to bash a women’s league by talking about how utterly dominant he would be as a way of explaining why it needs to be “defended”. It’s a common trope found in right-wing media, exaggerating feminity fragile to make trans women seem like monsters.

Additionally, the ignorance on display in Freedom’s comments is staggering, if unsurprisingly for a right-wing commentator. Due to the exact scenario that Freedom is described, you cannot simply declare yourself a woman and demand to play in the WNBA. The WNBA implemented a gender policy in 2016, requiring hormone testing and legally-binding medical testimony from certified professionals. This is very similar to pretty much every other level of professional sport, which has similar regulations. Lia Thomas, the right’s go-to trans villain in the sports world, sat out for a year to ensure compliance with the NCAA’s own policy. Once again, the right is trying to fearmonger about trans athletes without the slightest clue what they are talking about. For the record, there are currently zero trans women playing in the WNBA.

Read More: Enes Freedom sets aside LeBron beef to wish Bronny well and dogwhistle vaccine conspiracies

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Lance Armstrong Roasted For Questioning The “Fairness” Of Trans Athletes

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Lance Armstrong was once the greatest cyclist on the planet. When he won the Tour de France in 1999, he was the first American in nearly a decade to win the race. Then he proceeded to win the next six races in a row. That made him the most dominant rider in the race’s history. However, it all came crashing down when, in 2012, he admitted to prolonged and prolific steroid use throughout his career. His titles were stripped and now he is considered a dark stain on the sport’s history.

Meanwhile, the war against transgender individuals in the United States continues. Per the Trans Legislation Tracker, 590 anti-trans bills have been submitted to 49 state legislatures (shout out to Delaware). These bills fundamentally seek to erase trans people, be it physically or societally. Furthermore, the right wing especially is obsessed with is the issue of trans athletes. Despite victories by trans athletes being so rare that each one warrants its own news cycle, there are those who believe that they are the biggest problem facing women’s sports. It appears that Armstrong is one of these people.

Armstrong Comments On The “Fairness” Of Trans Athletes

In a stunning lack of self-awareness, Armstrong was just “asking questions” about trans athletes. “Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport yet not be labeled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions? Do we yet know the answers? And do we even want to know the answers?” Once again, for clarification – the success of trans athletes is so minimal that it is essentially insignificant.

Read More: Brittney Griner defends the inclusion of trans athletes; says everyone has a right to play sports and be themselves

However, it was surprising that Armstrong wanted to talk about fairness. After all, it wasn’t a trans athlete who was stripped of 7 Tour de France medals due to rampant cheating. It’s weird that when people are just trying to be themselves, that’s when Armstrong cares about fairness. Social media was in agreement, absolutely roasting Armstrong for the tone-deaf take. Armstrong, predictably, responded by decrying that the art of debate was dead and that “you can’t ask questions anymore”. Follow all the latest sports news here on HotNewHipHop.

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Brittney Griner Defends Inclusion Of Trans Athletes

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The debate around transgender athletes is a fierce and unpleasant one. Pro-trans supporters point to the stringent qualification regulations imposed by sporting authorities. They also argue that we should treat people with respect and dignity, not call them groomers or similar. Those on the opposite side of the issue largely rely on their belief that transgender individuals are simply pretending to be the opposite gender to one they were assigned at birth. They claim “men” have a biological advantage over “women” and that transgender women make it unfair to “real women”.

Anti-trans advocates point to the likes of former NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas. Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA title. In 2022, she won the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA National Swimming Championships. In response, pro-trans defenders point to literally every other race and event where a cisgender person beat a transgender person. Furthermore, the issue recently made headlines once again. The House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing at any educational institution that received federal funding.

Brittney Griner Calls Trans Exclusion “A Crime”

WNBA veteran Brittney Griner spoke to the media on Friday as part of the Phoenix Mercury’s training camp. The press conference was also part of a launch of a campaign between the Mercury and the Bring Our Families Home campaign. Bring Our Families Home seeks to help free American political prisoners held overseas. Griner was recently freed after spending nine months in a Russian jail on drug charges. Furthermore, her imprisonment, which occurred days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was widely seen as a political detention.

Griner, who is a cisgender woman, has long been an advocate for the rights of transgender athletes. When asked about the recently passed House bill, Griner said that she “definitely will be speaking up against that legislation and that [trans ban] law expected to be passed.” Continuing, Griner said “Everyone deserves the right to play. I think it’s a crime to separate someone for any reason.” While not segregated because of her gender, Griner has experience on what it is like to be yourself. Identifying as lesbian, Griner was reportedly told by her college coach Kim Mulkey to not be openly gay while on her Baylor Bears squad.

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