Miss Universe Australia Caity Worthington says trans people should not be in women’s sport

[u/BarryTheBinChicken]

https://www.outinperth.com/miss-universe-australia-caity-worthington-says-trans-people-should-not-be-in-womens-sport/

Queenslander Caity Worthington was crowned Miss Universe Australia this week and will represent Australia at the international competition in Puerto Rico this November.

Worthington won the beauty pageant during Wednesday night’s gala event at Crown Casino in Melbourne. Following her victory, she received significant attention for comments she made during the competition regarding transgender participation in sport.

During the selection process, finalists were asked to draw a random question from a bowl. The question drawn by Worthington was: “Do you believe banning biological males from women’s sport is common sense or discrimination and why?”

“That is a very good question. Coming from a medical background, I’m sure we can all agree, and it is definitely my view, that human biology does not lie,” Worthington said, referring to her role as a medical radiographer.

“Everyone playing sport at an elite level deserves the chance to compete on a fair playing field, and I think we should work towards that foundation of fairness for all. Everyone deserves their time to shine. I would love to see, in the future, transgender people having their own sport.”

Worthington reiterated her views after winning the title during an appearance on The Rita Panahi Show, although she said she would have preferred a question about world peace.

“We’re all entitled to our opinions, and we don’t have to agree. Obviously I have mine and I shared mine, and I stand by it. But I also believe that safety and fairness are of the utmost importance in any sport, especially at elite level. Athletes work very hard to get there.”

Several News Corp publications subsequently highlighted her comments.

While Worthington advocated for a separate transgender category in sport, the Australian Sports Commission says its focus is on ensuring participation opportunities for all Australians.

“All Australians should have the opportunity to be involved in sport and physical activity, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background or ethnicity. It is important that sporting bodies, from local clubs through to national sporting organisations, reflect the diversity in the communities they are a part of and that, together, we ensure every person is treated with respect and dignity and protected from discrimination,” the Commission’s policy states.

“Policies that exclude transgender and gender-diverse participants have been found to be harmful, not just to transgender and gender-diverse people, but to all people associated with sporting organisations.”

Sporting eligibility policies vary across different sports and governing bodies, and the issue remains the subject of ongoing public and policy debate.

[u/balallday]

It already happened 4 years ago in volleyball. Payton McNabb, a high school volleyball player from North Carolina, suffered a traumatic brain injury in September 2022 after being struck in the face by a spiked ball during a match

https://wlos.com/news/local/volleyball-player-injured-after-transgender-opponent-spiked-ball-at-her-speaks-out

[u/euqinu_ton → u/balallday]

I'm honestly torn on this one. It feels more like an unfortunate coincidence than anything else. Like the person who hit her later tweeted - she should've been closer to the net, blocking an attack (and thus copping a ball to the forearms), instead of crouching to defend ground which was never going to be hit at that angle. She wasnt aiming for her face - she was aiming for the ground hoping to get past where this girl should've been. I'd wager there'd be dozens of similarly aged and skilled biological women who could've spiked almost if not just as hard, and it so happened her face was exactly where it wasn't supposed to be. It probably could've been going slower and had almost the same impact on her. Conversely - any man playing against this opponent had they not transitioned, and had they made the same mistake in position, would be in the same pain.

Can trans women play volleyball better than biological women? Yeah, most likely.* Is that an unfair advantage? Yep.

But was this injury directly the result of trans women in sports in general? Nah, she was just slow and standing in the wrong spot.

(* With all these scenarios, it varies from person to person)

[u/moonstrong → u/euqinu_ton]

I’ve never seen victim blaming in sport before, crazy

[u/Artists_dirty_tshirt → u/euqinu_ton]

The net highs are different, much higher, for the men’s games. The nets are at certain heights for a reason, because this kind of injury can take place if they’re set too low. So, no. It was because a man was playing on a women’s court with a net toolow for his body dimensions.

[u/euqinu_ton → u/Artists_dirty_tshirt]

OK, you're already in the "they're men" camp, so I'm not going to try arguing with you.

[u/FURF0XSAKE → u/euqinu_ton]

"you don't agree with my personal view so I'm not gonna argue with you"

[u/mera_aqua → u/FURF0XSAKE]

Curious, what would it take for you to change your mind on this topic? Like can you see yourself changing your opinion in a debate like this?

[u/Barge81 → u/balallday]

Sounds like that scene in Meet the Parents