The @dailymaverick asked me to do a piece on the trans woman in sport issue. It’s necessarily short and high level, but here it is. Writing it made me realize there are some key questions everyone who wades into the debate upfront should answer. Wanted to share them here (1/_)

The first question, before any other “shots are fired”, should be:

“If there is ZERO evidence for what happens to performance and/or biology in trans women undergoing treatment, what should happen for sport? Would you allow inclusion, or would you exclude until it exists?” (2/)

This is so important because it reveals a “value system” and understanding of women’s sport. If you believe in inclusion in the absence of evidence, you’re saying that women’s sport should be OPEN to self-ID, and then evidence must be provided to prove unfairness or risk. (3/)

On the other hand, if you say exclusion until evidence exists, you’re stating that women’s sport should remain CLOSED unless evidence can be provided to assure its participants that it is fair and safe to open it to athletes who have benefited from T during development (4/)

Once you’ve answered this first question, then you move to number 2, which is:

“The current policies for inclusion require suppression of T for 12 months, in order to allow participation without unfairness or harm. How strong is the evidence that this is actually achieved?” (5/)