I’ve tried to look at all sides of this question, I really have. I’ve talked to both of my daughters–one of whom was an NCAA Division III athlete who played on a national championship volleyball team and the other who was a multiple-sport athlete in high school. I’ve been around women’s athletics for nearly 20 years.
I’ve tried to understand how it is fair for a biological men to compete against biological women. But in the end, there is just no way I can get behind transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Oberlin College disagrees:
Here is Jessica Blake at Inside Higher Ed:
The head women’s lacrosse coach at Oberlin College in Ohio was removed from her position this week, more than a year and a half after she posted her personal views on social media criticizing the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The news of Kim Russell’s reassignment to a different position in the athletics department follows her release late last month of a mini-documentary explaining her side of the story, through the Independent Women’s Forum, or IWF, a national conservative organization.
The documentary includes audio clips of lacrosse players and university officials, which were recorded by Russell during what she called “disciplinary meetings” following her social media post. An Oberlin spokesperson says the other individuals involved were not aware that recordings were being made.
Russell, a former college athlete herself, had been working as a coach at the small liberal arts college for five years before being reassigned this week to a newly created position as an employee wellness project manager. The new job does not involve interaction with students.
Russell’s controversial comments were originally posted in March 2022. She reshared on her Instagram story another user’s post that questioned transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’s win at the 2022 NCAA championships and added her own comment.
“What do you believe? I can’t be quiet on this … I’ve spent my life playing sports, starting & coaching sports programs for girls & women,” Russell wrote.
Russell described her treatment by Oberlin officials and the reaction on campus following the posting as being excessively harsh.
“I was not just chastised,” Russell said in an interview with the IWF. “I was burned at the stake. I was stoned. I was basically told I was a horrible person, and it was heartbreaking, really.”
Read the rest here.
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